Strangers
by Sagi-chan
Summary: AU-OOC-Yaoi. Yusuke Urameshi goes to a club with his girlfriend only to be dumped. By chance he meets a pair of runaway singers who will eventually turn his life upside down. YusukeXHiei [COMPLETE]
1. Part 1: Strangers

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho? Mine? I wish. Song by Martina McBride, also not mine. Again, I wish.  
  
Warnings: This is AU. With AU comes OOC. And in this fic, it comes with a little Yusuke/Hiei. Sorry, but this is a yaoi fic. Don't like, go away.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
AN Er... *nervous laughter* Hello all. I just want to tell you this story wasn't supposed to happen! But, a plot bunny attacked me sometime during last week, and it was almost as persistant as the others. Well, it was as annoying as the rest anyway. Anyway - the only way to kill a plot bunny, is to write it. So, the bunnies dead, but I'm stuck with a story. Hope you don't mind.  
  
  
  
Check out my new live journal! It's linked in my Bio.  
  
Just a few tweaks. I needed to change a few things.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Strangers  
  
  
  
"Did you hear?" Yusuke Urameshi asked his best friend, Kazuma Kuwabara and his on-and-off girlfriend Keiko Yukimora excitedly after meeting with them at Keiko's family owned ramen shop. The shop was nice, clean and airy - the perfect atmosphere for hanging out with your friends.  
  
Kuwabara looked up from his free ramen with a confused frown. "Hear what?" He asked, his chiseled features following his mouths example and scrunching up in confusion. He reached up and tugged his carrot shaped hair like he always did when trying to think of an answer to a particularly difficult question. "Did you ask me something important?"  
  
Yusuke sighed in exasperation of his slow-witted friend, his brown eyes holding a twinge of tired amusement while he tossed back his sleek, longish hair. "There's a sign in the window of 'Black Thorn' saying that Kurama and Hiei are going to be singing there tomorrow night.  
  
The Black Thorn was the local teen club, decorated half like a coffee bar and half like a dance club, it wasn't the cleanest place you could go, but it was one of the most popular. And Kurama and Hiei were Japan's latest hit sensation. "The best music act since sliced bread," the critics raved. Nobody knew where they came from, and the two singers were complete opposites. But nobody minded, because they were so fabulous at singing.  
  
Keiko sighed dreamily. "I wish we could get in to see them," she said softly, looking down at her own cup of ramen. She looked imploringly at Yusuke.  
  
"What?" He asked, pausing in his snarf-fest. Yusuke would never turn down free food, and it was just sitting there in front of him. So good, so ramen-y. And Keiko was giving him her best "get me tickets to that show or die in the process" look, ruining his appetite.  
  
"Oh come on Urameshi," Kuwabara snorted, "you wouldn't tell us something like that unless you had something else hidden up your sleeve."  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes and held up his arms, displaying that he *wasn't* wearing sleeves. "Not up my sleeves," he said mischievously, "but there might be something hidden in my pocket..." He enjoyed tormenting his two friends a moment longer before submitting and pulling out three tickets, each stamped with a Black Rose.  
  
Keiko squealed, grabbed the ticket and launched a hug attack at her boyfriend. Kuwabara's eyes lit up and he carefully tucked his ticket into his own pocket. Yusuke smiled, pleased that he had managed to make both friends happy at the same time.  
  
  
  
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Kurama parted the curtain of his latest gig with a small frown. There was a healthy sized crowd gathered on the dance floor, more sitting in cozy looking booths. All the people there were talking happily with each other and listening to the music provided by the club. Kurama sighed, he wished he could have ended up normal like that. But no, he was stuck here, looking for someone to sing to, like he did at every gig. He was looking for someone with the same, haunted and unhappy expression that he and Hiei almost constantly had hidden in their eyes.  
  
There, in the back booth, sitting with two friends. He looked happy on the outside, but to Kurama, the boy nearly oozed with loneliness.  
  
"Fox."  
  
Kurama dropped the curtain and turned around, his long red hair swirling gracefully around him. He had white streaks in his hair, which contrary to popular belief were natural. The white matched the fox ears that sat on top of his head and even managed to enhance his facial features. To put it mildly, Kurama's hair was definitely one of his highlights, the others being his eyes, voice and figure. The length of his hair also managed to hide that when he had fox ears, he didn't have human ears. But still, his vivid green eyes peered through the dark to land on his partner.  
  
His partner, Hiei was standing a little ways behind him, half dressed but looking annoyed. Well, Hiei was always annoyed looking, he just seemed to be actually annoyed at something in particular instead of everything at once. It was probably their changing room this time. Hiei's eyes softened a little at the down hearted gleam in his friends eyes, and he paused in his task of gelling his hair to stay flat, rather up in its normal single spike. Unfortunately, no matter how much gel he put into his hair, it always reverted back to its natural position. Kurama liked to joke that Hiei had hung upside-down too much when he was a kid. Hiei liked to joke about taking his katana and slicing Kurama into little pieces.  
  
"Finish getting ready, Fox." Hiei said in the gentle voice Kurama was sure Hiei only used with him. "The manager said we go on in about ten minutes."  
  
Kurama nodded and followed his small companion back to their provided 'dressing room'. Really, it was a private bathroom that had a few stiff looking chairs placed in it, apparently for them to sit on. However, neither of them enjoyed the thought of having splinters in their rear, so they had avoided the chairs. It also seemed that the toilet had been flushed for their arrival, and the that mirror had been splashed quickly in an attempt to be cleared of most of its grime. The floor, however, had unusual fuzzy brown patches growing in the corner, so they swallowed their pride and stood on the chairs while changing their clothes.  
  
"This is disgusting," Kurama muttered, carefully changing into his formal, but comfortable white Chinese style tunic and matching pants. He expertly tied a pink sash around his waist and slipped his shoes back on as quickly as he could. He then jumped of his chair, luckily splinter free, and pulled out his hairbrush and began working it through his hair.  
  
"Hn." Hiei muttered, already having his black pants and boots on. He slipped on a pale blue shirt, sleeves ripped off, and made sure his hair was still spiked. Not that it wouldn't be. Also checking to be sure that his bandana was still tightly tied around his forehead.  
  
"Hey," Kurama said suddenly, reaching into his duffle bag. "I saw something earlier that I thought you might like." He pulled out a thin chain necklace that had a beautiful jewel dangling from it. "The jewel reflects in any type of light, and I thought it was something you might like to have."  
  
Hiei took the gift with a thoughtful expression and carefully looked it over. "Hn," he said softly, admitting that he liked it. He slipped it around his neck and finished getting ready.  
  
There was a knock on the door. "You're on boys," the managers booming voice boomed through the door. "And you better be as good as you say you are!" There was a minor threat in his voice.  
  
Kurama rolled his eyes while Hiei lifted an unseen finger to the man behind the door. Oh yes, they were *so* looking forward to this one.  
  
  
  
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The music of the club faded out and the lights dimmed accordingly. A female voice cried out in the silence, "There they are!" And all the other females screamed. Most passed out. Yusuke looked carefully over at his girlfriend. Unfortunately for him, Keiko seemed eager to listen to the two singers, *and* eager to ogle their 'oh so great bodies'. However, when he caught a glimpse of first Kurama and then Hiei, he had to admit there was truth in what girls claimed. They were both slim, well built and extremely attractive.  
  
But they looked so sad. Kurama especially.  
  
The two singers took their positions on the make-shift stage, each setting himself down on a three-legged stool and holding onto a microphone. Without any words spoken and with no introduction needed, the light blazed back on, revealing them in full view.  
  
Suddenly, Keiko gasped. "They're looking over here!" She whispered excitedly to Yusuke and Kuwabara. The girl then cast haughty looks around at the other girls before fluffing her hair and smiling prettily at Kurama and Hiei. Without even saying another word, she took off the necklace that Yusuke had given her for her birthday, dropped it on the table and slipped out of the booth. Yusuke watched, dumbfounded as she joined the masses of females surrounding the stage.  
  
Kuwabara didn't even notice, too busy ogling all the girls on the dance floor. The tall carrot-top got up and left for the dance floor as well, leaving Yusuke alone in the booth.  
  
The music suddenly started, soft at first before it picked up. Then, with about a hundred girls swooning at his feet, Kurama lifted his microphone to his mouth and began singing.  
  
  
  
"Two strangers passing on the sidewalk. Barely brush each others hands. He says "I'm sorry." She says "don't worry"  
  
And that is how it all began."  
  
  
  
Kurama's sweet voice carried impossibly well over the masses of screaming girls. His words sinking slowly into Yusuke's ears, as though that's where they were meant to be.  
  
As though Kurama was singing directly to him.  
  
  
  
"A few short days and nights together. And it's like they were meant to be. Lying there with her, He softly whispers  
  
"Just think what we were so recently.""  
  
  
  
Kurama's voice stayed steady and strong, even slightly wistful as he sang, still reaching over his fans and into Yusuke's ears. And going from his ears down into a hollow place he had always been aware of deep inside of his heart. The song struck a cord there, bringing forth Yusuke's loneliness full front.  
  
He looked up, and was captured in the green eyes now boring into his eyes. Those eyes, they reflected so much sadness. Then the red-head lowered his head while Hiei picked up the chorus.  
  
  
  
"Strangers. Strangers. The worlds greatest lovers, last week they were strangers."  
  
  
  
The small dark haired boy sang impossibly well, his voice and eyes betraying his child-like looks to be very mature. Mysterious red eyes that locked onto Yusuke's the moment Kurama had looked away. Then, Hiei too looked away, Kurama picking up the melody and Yusuke's gaze.  
  
  
  
"Two strangers passing in the hallway, Barely touch each others heart. Now they're pretending, Two shadows bending. But they're a million miles apart."  
  
  
  
Kurama paused for a moment, closing his eyes as though he were one of the people experiencing as much heartbreak as those in his song. Then, he looked right back and Yusuke and continued singing.  
  
  
  
"Soon she'll be packing up her suitcase. They'll be dividing all the blame. They know how they started, Now empty hearted. They don't have a clue how they became..."  
  
Somehow, Kurama managed to tell Yusuke to wait after the show was over. He managed to convey through his eyes, his sad, fathomless eyes, to not leave. Something shivered through them, weak as a spiders web blowing in the wind, telling Yusuke that they were kindred souls.  
  
  
  
"Strangers. Strangers. The worlds greatest lovers, And now they are strangers. The worlds greatest lovers, Have turned into strangers."  
  
  
  
Hiei sang, also telling Yusuke with his eyes to remain where he was. The same spiders thread seemed to connect him to Kurama and Yusuke. The boy in the booth finally was able to see the unspoken, but deeply felt pain the shorter boy was going through.  
  
  
  
"Strangers, Strangers."  
  
  
  
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"Do you think he'll wait?" Kurama asked when they were once again in their 'changing room'. He shook his head, the ears at the top of his head twitching slightly before completely disappearing. The white in his hair vanished as well, leaving him with plain, vibrant red locks and two normal human ears. He had already changed into his street clothes, consisting of a pair of jeans and a simple white button down shirt.  
  
"They always stay." Hiei reminded him, slipping on his warm kimono and carefully belting his katana around his waist. "But they're never what you're looking for." He continued, not turning back to Kurama. "They're always fake."  
  
Kurama sighed and picked up his duffle bag. "Let's go collect our credits and find a new hotel room." He murmured, trying to hide how upset he was. "I'm tired."  
  
"You don't want to talk to the boy?" Hiei asked, surprised. His partner bowed his head in thought.  
  
"Perhaps for a moment or so, but then can we go?"  
  
Hiei regarded his friend a little closer. "Of course, let's go get our money."  
  
The club owner was surprisingly willing to give them the required pay for their services. He even asked them to sing for his club again the next night, though Kurama politely refused him. After they had collected their well earned sum of three hundred credits each, they left the office and made their way towards the doors. The young boy they had silently asked to stay was sitting casually on the stage, though his eyes betrayed his fascade of calm.  
  
"Hello," Kurama said softly, setting his duffle bag down by his feet and sitting down next to the boy. "Thank you for staying behind to talk to us."  
  
Hiei nodded his agreement to those thanks.  
  
"I'm Yusuke," the boy told them, keeping his eyes cast on the ground. He slowly lifted his eyes until they settled at Kurama's knees. "Why did you want to meet me?" He seemed anxious, Kurama realized, smiling slightly. He was used to being used by others. He remembered how the girl that had been sitting with Yusuke took off something he had obviously given her and tossed it on the table as though it was nothing. The poor guy.  
  
"Did you enjoy the show?" Kurama asked instead of answering Yusuke's question.  
  
Yusuke nodded hesitantly. "Yes, you are both very talented singers. I... enjoyed listening to you."  
  
The three boys were silent after that. And Hiei, it seemed, had made a decision, because Kurama didn't seem too keen to do so.  
  
"Yusuke," he said, "would you like to spend a bit of time with me and Kurama? You know, play video games, catch a movie, something like that? I noticed your friends didn't seem to eager to spend a lot of time with you."  
  
Kurama snorted. If Yusuke's friends had wanted to be with him, they would still be with him.  
  
Yusuke seemed unsure, but its not like he would have been missed at home. His mother was an alcoholic - currently on one of her drinking sprees. Keiko had officially dumped him for good, just a few minutes before. And Kuwabara had ditched him for chasing the girls he had been dancing with earlier. "Sure," he said finally, coming to his decision.  
  
Its not like anyone would miss him at home, or school - seeing as the school was closed for a teachers convension. Kurama smiled at Yusuke's dicision, his green eyes showing his sincere happiness. Hiei's eyes glimmered as well.  
  
"Strangers," Hiei sang softly under his breath. "Last week we were strangers..."  
  
He wasn't surprised that Kurama had chosen to spend time with Yusuke. The boy was exactly like them in spirit. It would just be a question of how much the boy would accept them. If he would accept them for what they were.  
  
"Strangers..."  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Again, I know I should be working on Tossed and Found, but the bunny just attacked me! Out of nowhere! It was scary! I'm leaving it open to be continued, let me know if you want the rest of the story. It should happen sometime after Tossed and Found is finished. Maybe, if I get enough feed back from this one.  
  
  
  
  
  
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	2. Part 2: Secrets

Disclaimer: Is in the first chapter. And will remain there.  
  
Dedication: *has never dedicated stuff before* This chapter is hereby dedicated to Kuroi, who has offered to draw me pics, been an amazing friend, and did... some other stuff. ^_^ Here's to you! *burry's Kuroi in Hiei plushies*  
  
  
  
AN Well... here's chapter two anyway. I'm mostly through planning this fic out. Just the ending chapters and editing and such. That's mostly how I've been spending my time. ^_^ I hope you don't mind that this chapter is mostly... blah. .() It will get better, I swear! Anyway, I'll try to update on Weekends, rather then sporaticaly. That should give me enough writing time during school. Eh-heh... just read.  
  
  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 2: Secrets  
  
  
  
Hiei took a brief moment to tell Yusuke to wait just a minute or two longer so that he and Kurama might get ready to go into public. And it took all of those two minutes to completely alter the two singers' appearances. With Yusuke watching, expression completely astonished, the red-head tied back his hair in a loose bun and hid it with a warm winter hat. The boy then pulled out a second hat, carefully placing it on Hiei's head.  
  
The results from the hats alone were amazing. Hiei's whole appearance, including his expression and attitude softened. He seemed to become a small child, even going so far as to take hold of Yusuke's hand, enhancing the illusion. Yusuke was in too large a state of shock to protest. And Kurama, with his hair hidden, could become almost invisible in a crowd. His features sharped drastically, but without the frame of brilliant red hair, he became just another person taking his little brothers home from school.  
  
Or at least, that's what Yusuke saw when he looked at them.  
  
With an addition of mittens and scarfs the change had been completed and Kurama turned to look calmly at Yusuke. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, his voice holding a new note in it. He smiled at the boy before turning back down to make sure Hiei looked alright.  
  
"Why do you do that?" Yusuke asked.  
  
"Do what, oniisan?" Hiei said in a playful, child-like voice. He quieted when sent two warning glances.  
  
Kurama didn't answer right away. It seemed as though he was looking for the right words to explain about the deception to Yusuke. "Surely you know how popular we are," he said finally, with a sad smile. "If someone were to recognize us in the streets we would be mobbed. However, we have found that by changing our appearances slightly, that can be avoided."  
  
Hiei turned his large eyes first to Kurama, and then to Yusuke - offering them both a small, sweet smile. Then he spoke, breaking his illusion with his normal, deep voice. "Let's go find Yukina, Fox. I'm tired."  
  
Kurama nodded with a smile before heading for the door. Hiei was pulled after them. Yukina, it turned out, was a girl who looked every bit as young as Hiei did. She wore a kimono that looked very similar to Hiei's, and a hat and mittens that matched as well. The two could pass as siblings. Without a word spoken, Kurama took the girls mittened hand in his own and began leading her down the street.  
  
Yusuke just sort of drifted after them, barely aware he was still holding a famous singers hand. As they walked through the streets of downtown, he noticed that most people cast them only a curtsey glance before smiling and moving on. He also noticed that with the increasing darkness brought on by the setting sun, less and less people seemed to be on the streets. And while the sun set and the light slowly fadded from the sky, his three new companions seemed eager to reach their destination all the more quickly. He dimly wondered if he should be suspicious of the two people walking slightly ahead of him, and the third just to his side. He realized that following them home wasn't the brightest idea ever. He also realized that he knew nothing about them except their first names and that they could sing very well. Those were his vague, half concerned thoughts until Kurama and Yukina came to a stop outside of a cheap motel on the outskirts of town. The building was made of cheep brick and plaster, and it was very dirty. The other three didn't seem to notice this however, so Yusuke didn't comment. Hiei tugged Yusuke's hand and offered up a shy smile. The two stopped next to those in front of the door, waiting. Kurama was searching through his black duffle bag, which Yusuke's mind had just registered. Because of his sharp eyes, Yusuke could see some very formal, very clean clothes. But it seemed as though Kurama was carrying enough clothing for three people, most likely the reason that Hiei and Yukina weren't carrying their own bags. Either way, it was obvious Kurama was either looking for some sort of clearance card, or his Credits card.  
  
The red-head slowly pulled out his Credits card, the newest way of carrying large amounts of money. Different currencies had been eliminated and the new, universal Credits had come out instead. So, instead of carrying cash that could be easily stolen - everyone at the age of nine or so, was issued a Credits card. Individual Credits were made of a green type of metal. Those Cretits were heavy and made stealing them or carrying them around a nuisance. The new system had minimized muggers, but brought out hackers, who were constantly hacking into bank files to transfer Credits to their own cards.  
  
"This is where you guys live?" Yusuke asked, almost dumbstruck that two well known names were forced to live in such a dirty place. And what of Yukina? Why was she following these two around?  
  
"No," Kurama said softly. "This is were we will sleep tonight. In a few days we'll be found and we'll have to take a train to another city." He sighed, "it's annoying but the only way we can keep safe." He inserted his card into the well lit "Pay-Pal" and hit the button for the room he wanted. He placed his hand on the fingerprint identifier - to confirm that he was the owner of the card - and waited for the confirming beep. With the beep heard, Kurama took his card back and waited for the doors to the motel to open.  
  
They did so with a slow groan and the group of four entered the motel lobby. Kurama retrieved the key he had requested and began leading the two others down the hall for their room.  
  
"We're in room one-thirty-two," the red-head told them. They nodded politely at the security guard standing opposite of the door to the lobby type of room and hurried off. They found the room and entered to see two double beds, a small cot nearly buried with extra blankets, a pay-to-view television set and a great view of the city. There was no bathroom, they would have to use the communal one at the end of the hallway. But there were beds with blankets and pillows, the door could be locked, and the window had no way of opening from the outside.  
  
"Pretty good for thirty Credits." Hiei said softly - removing his hat and scarf before collapsing on one of the beds. Kurama let out a "Hmmm..." of agreement and followed his example - bouncing on the bed seconds later.  
  
It was only when Yukina did the same, taking off her hat to display her almost teal colored hair that Yusuke began to realize that there had to be a hidden story behind these mysterious singers. It was obvious that they had known each other for a very long time - but where had they come from? The girl bounced on the bed with a giggle and immediately began pleading for a Credit to feed the television.  
  
The two boys showed such familiarity and ease with each other that Yusuke quickly became uncomfortable. The two were obviously as close as brothers - and only as such. Even with Yukina, it was like they were a group of siblings. They had a dependency on each other that spoke volumes about their relationship and past together. Seeing them lying on the bed sent a wave of pain and loneliness through Yusuke. At least, until Kurama opened his brilliant green eyes and silently motioned the third boy over.  
  
"Can you feel how alike we are?" He asked softly, green eyes following Yusuke's movements until he was perched on the bed.  
  
Yusuke hesitated, not quite knowing how to answer. But somehow, he knew what Kurama meant. By just being with these three, his loneliness could be either eliminated or intensified. He knew that it was possible to share a closeness with them that he could never have with Keiko, or Kuwabara.  
  
"We're kindred souls," Kurama continued. "We're brothers. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you talk and move. You're just as alone and hurt as we are."  
  
Yusuke blinked, a feeling of anger rippling through him. He hated it when people tried to figure him out. He hated people prying into his life, his secrets. Two hot patches of anger appeared on his cheeks and he clenched his fists, opening his mouth to hurl hurtful words at Kurama.  
  
Kurama abruptly lowered his eyes, obviously knowing he had offended the dark haired boy. Hiei and Yukina did so as well, knowing the words were not for them, but already being able to feel the sting. "Sorry," the red head said softly. "I didn't mean to offend you, or judge you. We don't even know each other very well yet, that was rude of me." He chanced a look back up at Yusuke.  
  
"We've still got too many secrets Fox," Hiei said, his whole personality taking that of a sleepy child. "Tell him our secret and then let's get some sleep." Yukina nodded her agreement with a yawn, obviously as tired as Hiei.  
  
Yusuke's anger completely disapated, as quickly as it had appeared. Those three people trusted him enough to tell him their secrets - just like that. He was at a loss for words. "You don't have to-" he started to say, trying to assure them that he trusted them, almost as much as they did him.  
  
"I'll tell you mine and Hiei's secret," Yukina said boldly, sitting up and smiling affectionately at the boy nearly asleep on the bed. "We're twins."  
  
Yusuke blinked, barely able to see the family resemblance. They were both small, almost child like. They both had red eyes, but that was about it. To his inexperienced eye, the two were complete opposites - not twins. Hiei seemed sure of himself, gruff, hardened. Yukina was a little more timid, innocent, quiet. Their whole personalities were nearly polar opposites, and their appearances did nothing to help the case. He blinked again when the tallest of those in the room moved into his field of vision.  
  
"Don't you want to know my biggest secret?" Kurama asked with a mischievous smile. He didn't even wait until Yusuke answered - he stood up, still smiling, though it had changed from mischievous to grim. The red head slowly turned in a three hundred sixty degree circle, before his body outline started to blur. A moment later, a cloud of smoke engulfed him and swirled through the room. After the smoke cleared, Yusuke stared, dumbstruck, as a silver fox with golden eyes and five tails pawed at his leg.  
  
Then, he fainted.  
  
  
  
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"Was the smoke really necessary?" Hiei asked the Fox, sitting up with a yawn. He wasn't amused when the animal nodded its head. "Well, make him comfortable on the bed - I'm tired... but I can't sleep without you." He reached up with one hand to untie the headband from around his forehead. With the strip of cloth gone, a third eye opened, looking completely out of place. The eye, his reason of running, was what granted him sleepless nights. Yukina, obviously knowing the signs of her brothers lack of sleep, carefully tucked him into the bed and moved to lay herself on the cot. She snuggled into the blankets and bid her brothers a sleepy good-night.  
  
The Fox nodded again, first at Hiei, then Yukina - but this time he held no playfulness. The silver animal jumped onto the bed Yusuke was passed out on, nudged him until he was lying in a more comfortable position, dragged the top blanket over his body and turned to look over at his small companion. Poor Hiei, they really should have arranged to meet Yusuke some time the next day so that Hiei could get enough sleep. The little one was cursed with visions when he slept alone - and only by holding onto Kurama, or vise-versa, could he get decent, undisturbed sleep.  
  
/I do feel sorry for him,/ Kurama thought to himself, knowing all to well that if he wanted to, Hiei could speak to him telepathically. /At least I can sleep at night./ Without a sound, Kurama jumped the distance between the two beds and curled up next to Hiei's half asleep form. Yukina couldn't sleep with him, she would freeze him to death. That is, if he didn't burn her first. For the longest time, it had been Kurama to hold the little one in his arms, helping him sleep, before that - he wasn't sure Hiei ever went to sleep unless he was drugged. Sure enough, two arms automatically wrapped around his furry body and hugged him close. After that, nobody moved until morning - when Yusuke woke up. The dark haired teen woke with only the thought that he needed to use the bathroom - until he spotted the two bodies lying on the bed opposite him. And the third lying on a cot coated with ice.  
  
First to hold his eye was the small boy with spiky hair who had wrapped his arms around a very elegant looking fox. Both were still sleeping, and Yusuke was suddenly assaulted with memories of the night before. How he had met the two at the club, agreed to hear their story, and watched as Kurama had transformed into a fox. With a soft 'flump' Yusuke hit the bed in another dead faint.  
  
The sound was enough to wake the Fox, who opened its mouth in a wide, toothy yawn, before wiggling out of Hiei's grasp. The movement woke Hiei, causing the boy to sit up and yawn, though not as wide. And that woke Yukina, who didn't look surprised in the least to find that her bed was covered in ice.  
  
"Change back." Hiei said simply to the fox. The animal moved its head in what appeared to be a nod, before it blurred and became human. Or, almost human. It was Kurama, but with white in his hair and fox ears on the top of his head. The red haired half-fox slowly approached his newest friend (what he hoped was a friend, anyway) and carefully shook his shoulder.  
  
"Yusuke?" He called softly. "Yusuke wake up, there are some things we need to talk about."  
  
Large brown eyes blinked once, twice, before Yusuke managed to sit up. The boy rubbed his head. "What hit me?" He asked with a groan.  
  
"A truth," Hiei said from the other bed, three eyes staring very steadily at the other. "And a secret, one of many. We can trust you with it, can't we?" Though his posture was that of confidence, there was a tiny hint of uncertainty laced in his voice. So faint that only Kurama and Yukina picked it up, having known Hiei for much longer than anybody else.  
  
Yusuke stared, completely amazed at Hiei's three eyes. "You have..." he began, still staring at the third eye in Hiei's forehead. He was more fascinated then shocked, having had the night before to remain in a shocked state. "And Kurama's ears..." he reached out with a hesitant hand to stroke the fluffy tips.  
  
To his surprise, Kurama's eyes fluttered shut and a deep purring sound erupted in his chest.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Yukina said, sounding amused. "He'll never let you stop."  
  
Kurama opened one eye and glared at the girl with it. "No stop." He said firmly, twitching the furry ear a little closer to Yusuke's hand. He was like a big, human shaped kitten... except that he was a fox. The red-head sighed when the hand was removed. Yusuke grinned.  
  
"Interesting." He said softly. "But, how do you have ears like that? How are you able to become a fox? Why does Hiei have three eyes? Why is she covered in ice? Isn't she cold? Are you demons or something?" His questions seemed endless. One brought forth another, and he spent nearly five minutes asking question after endless question.  
  
"Enough." Hiei said firmly. He had long since retied his bandana over his third eye. Kurama had changed into his complete human form. And Yukina had removed herself from the cot so that the ice might melt.  
  
"We're not demons." Hiei continued, looking down at the bedding he was twisting in his hands to avoid Yusuke's eyes. The sheets ripped neatly in two and he moved on to a different patch to receice the same results.  
  
"We're runaway experiments."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Eh-heh... well. Reviews are always nice. Leave me a couple and I'll update.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	3. Part 3: Running

All disclaimers are in chapter one.  
  
  
  
  
  
AN Alright! I said I'd update sometime this weeked and I did! Horray! Anway, this chapter is way longer then I expected it to be. I hope it's up to par and that you all like it. Reveiws are greatly appreciated. Critiques, comments anything. ^__^ I hope you like. I'm almost done planning out the story too!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 3: Running  
  
  
  
"Runaway experiments." The words echoed through Yusuke's mind like a stone falling in a deep well. Just as the stone hit the water, Yusuke's eyes widened.  
  
"E-experiments?" He asked in a completely shell-shocked voice.  
  
"We ran away about a month ago," Kurama confirmed with a firm nod. "I'm not quite sure *where* we were exactly, location wise. But, our stories are quite different, it might take quite a while to explain."  
  
Yusuke sat himself straight, determined to hear this story. "I have all the time in the world," he told the Fox... human... person.  
  
Kurama nodded and sat down on the bed beside Hiei, who still refused to look up. "I was born in one of the labs there, we called it Hell." Kurama began after a moment of thought. "It was, if anything, very steril. They disinfected everything, no matter how small. But anyway they told me that my mother died as I was born. She only had time enough to name me... Shuuichi, she called me. What she named me mattered little to the doctors - they called me Kurama. But she died and the doctors took me. I was very weak and very cold, but I remember having a tail to keep me warm. For a very long time, I remained inside what you could call a nursery. I had an IV in my arm which served the purpose of feeding me, but also of putting chemicals into my body. Before I was even a year old, my tail and ears had vanished. I don't know much of my childhood after that. Only a few bits and pieces that Hiei managed to wrestle out of my memory."  
  
Yusuke blinked at the strange comment. But Kurama continued talking before he could ask.  
  
"There aren't many memories," Kurama confessed. "One is when the 'doctors' injected me with a chemical that messed with my mind. Some sort of hilucagent, I think. It caused a split in both my physce and my genetics. That is what allows me to change forms, you see. It's almost like having Split-Personality disorder except that in addition to different personalities, I had different bodies for each of them. There are four, you've seen three of them - my human aspect, my fox aspect, my half-and-half aspect. But the fourth is one I've only been a few times. Hiei calls it Youko, a fox spirit, I'm very powerful in that form and only when I am truely angry or distressed can I become the Youko. The other three are simple because I grew up being each of them. Anyway, after I recovered from the split, about four years later, I think... they moved me into one of the larger holding chambers. It was a big communal one, lots of gaurds. Later, I was moved to a private chamber because of violent outbursts from my most repressed personality, I dare say I could probably destroy the whole compound in that form if I so desired."  
  
Kurama rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile.  
  
"I was a decent age then, I'm not quite sure how old exactly though." He told Yusuke. "And it wasn't so bad. Testing in the day, recovering at night. That's when I met Hiei." The red head frowned thoughtfully. "The window of my chamber looked into his holding chamber. He was in a big communal one and was the only one strong enough to reach the window there. They were very high up, those windows. Their purpose was to let air into the rooms, not communication between the experiments. But, Hiei and I would spend our nights talking all the same. I think he noticed this as well, but we seemed to recover from the testing faster the nights we talked. I noticed that he would never sleep unless drugged. We told each other about our 'quirks', I guess you could call them. And about our hopes, thoughts anything that was running through our mind. He would insult me, I would tease him and in a way, we became brothers. Depending on who was feeling more vunerable, the roll of older brother and younger brother would switch. We grew so close that after a few years, Hiei discovered he could communicate with me telepathically and we came up with a plan to get out of Hell. To get away. But he told me that he wouldn't leave without Yukina, his sister. He told me that he had promised to protect her no matter what. So, we broke out of our chambers, got Yukina and fled."  
  
Yusuke blinked. Kurama had ended the story rather quickly... but it had left a lot of things for him to think about. His life was nothing compared to Kurama's, he hadn't suffered as much pain or loss. He hadn't ever gone though anything like any of his three new friends had. The worst things in his life were a drunk and neglectent mother, a school that wanted to expell him, and a reputation as the worst deliquent in all of Tokyo. He was weak compared to them. And Kurama had mentioned 'quirks'. What did he mean by that?  
  
"They... tested on you?" He finally asked.  
  
"Before and after birth," Kurama confirmed. "They had been testing my mother since I was conceived... playing with genetics and such. They put fox genetics in me during the first trimester to see if it would take." He paused before adding grimly. "It took."  
  
Yusuke's eyes shimmered in the light of the room. It was clear that tears were forming behind his eyes, but he was unwiling to let them fall. He wanted to apologize but knew it wouldn't be enough. Simple apologise would never make up for what the three had lost. They would never give back the childhood they had never had. Apologies would just be a waste of words that could be better used.  
  
"How can I help?" He asked finally. "Can I help you in getting away?"  
  
Yukina's and Hiei's eyes widened and they lifted their gazes to stare at the boy who was so like them in spirit, but unlike them in history. Then proving, for the first time in Yusuke's eyes, that they were twins... they broke into identical smiles and moved forward just enough to embrace him loosely. Yusuke shivered at the difference between them. Yukina's skin temperature was ice cold, if Yusuke could judge from her bed. But Hiei was burning hot, it was a wonder Kurama didn't melt away while he slept.  
  
After the shock faded from the completely unexpected hugs, Yusuke turned his eyes back to Kurama's. "I'm probably putting myself in danger just by talking to you and listening to what you have to say... right?" The dark haired boy reasoned. "And besides, if you really grew up in Hell - you'll need somebody to help you blend into society a little better. And I might not look it, but I'm the best fighter in the city." He didn't say it boastfully, there was a truthful ring in his words... even if the smallest hint of pride and remorse hung in the air.  
  
"You are in danger by being with us," Kurama said hesitantly. "But by going with us you run a greater risk... are you sure?" He looked deeply into the eyes of the boy opposite him and saw the already made decision. "Alright, we're planning to go down south further in two days."  
  
"I'll need to go home to get some things," Yusuke told his new friends. "And I'll need a little time to cut off any ties I have around here. Is there anywhere I can meet you?"  
  
Kurama shook his head. "No, Hiei will go with you - he knows how to find us." He smiled when Hiei scowled at him. The other side of having Hiei go with Yusuke was to give Kurama and Yukina time to do some shopping. They knew if Hiei went along all they would buy would be sweet food, unhealthy food that wouldn't keep for long periods of time. And the last time that Hiei went with them for new clothes, Yukina had nearly ended up wearing clothing that resembled a very large bag - so that no males would look at her wrong. Luckilly for her, Kurama had been there and made sure that the bag-like clothing at least looked nice.  
  
"Where are you two going?" Hiei asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing to slits. It was clear he wasn't feeling too trusting at the moment.  
  
"Shopping!" Yukina chirped with a wide, knowing smile.  
  
Hiei grimaced. Shopping was not his favorite activity, in fact - it was his least favorite activity. In a sudden flurry of movements, he had jammed his hat over his head, shoved his hands into his mittens and took a firm hold of Yusuke's wrist, pulling him out the door. Then he stopped, returned to the room and gave Kurama a very quick hug, Yukina a kiss on the cheek and returned to Yusuke's side, dragging him down the hall. And all of that had taken place in about ten seconds. Even thought Yusuke was slightly surprised at Hiei's speed and choise of good-bye, he didn't say anything. So, with the child-like appearance firmly intact, the two took off for Yusuke's home. They passed very few people, for it was early on a Monday morning and not many people were awake yet.  
  
"So," Hiei asked finally after they had been walking for twenty minutes. "What is your cover up story going to be?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What are you going to tell your parents? You do have parents right? And your two friends, and your school?" Hiei scowled, "you'll have to have a good excuse for suddenly disappearing."  
  
Yusuke grinned widely. "I'll think of something." He said jovially. He smiled down at his small companion and turned into the yard of his apartment complex. The house he lived in with his mother was very plain, but filthy. Even from the door Yusuke could smell the foul stench of ciggerett smoke and rotting food. Oh goodie, his mother was home.  
  
"Kassan!" Yusuke called, strolling through the unlocked door and walking over the heaps of garbage and empty bottles that littered the floor. "Where you are? Are you drunk still?"  
  
From one of the back rooms there was a thud, as though somebody had just fallen into a wall. A moment or two later a middle aged women with long brown hair emerged, stumbling drunkenly towards her son. "Ys'kay," she slurred. "Where've you been?"  
  
"I spent the night at a friends house," Yusuke said, gesturing to Hiei.  
  
The woman peered at Hiei, her eyes going cross-eyed as she fought to concentrate. "'Ello," she finally said.  
  
"Mom," Yusuke said, helping to steady the woman as she lost her ballance and nearly collided with the wall. The woman was giggling. "I got accepted in the foreign exchange student program, do you remember when I applied?"  
  
Yusuke's mother frowned before shaking her head. "Are you go'n away?" She slurred, loosing her ballance once again. She landed on the floor with an "oomph!" And remained there, looking up at her son.  
  
"Yeah mom," Yusuke said calmly. "I leave in a couple of days but I'm supposed to stay at a hotel to learn about my placement and where I'm going."  
  
Hiei snorted. So that was his cover up story, he had to admit it was fairly clever. And it was just his luck that his mother was so stinking drunk that she believed it. It also made Hiei wonder if Yusuke ever lied to his mother, as she so readilly accepted his story. The small singer watched curiously as Yusuke finished talking with his mother and stood up.  
  
"Come on," he said to Hiei, stepping around his mothers now sleeping form. "I need to pack a few things and then we can stop by Keiko's house so I can officially dump her."  
  
Hiei arched an eyebrow but followed his friend down the hallway all the same. "You don't seem to have the most responsible of parents," he spoke for the first time since entering the house. "I can see why Kurama wanted to sing to you."  
  
Yusuke stiffened slightly. "She might be stinking drunk," the deliquent said, choosing his words carefully. "But she's still my mother so please do not insult her."  
  
Hiei's garnet colored eyes widened slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you." He said in a gruff, slightly scorning voice that covered up all of his other emotions.  
  
They reached Yusuke's room, which was noticabally cleaner then the rest of the house, and the dark haired boy told Hiei to sit down while he got some things together. Instead of doing as asked, Hiei took the moment to take in what a normal kid's bedroom would look like. There was a closet, which Yusuke was currently digging in, pulling out clothes and stuffing them into a decent sized bag, which seemed to be the most abnormal part of the room. Large posters lined the closet doors - Hiei assumed that they were posters of rock bands. The rest of the room was fairly plain, an unmade bed under the window, its sky blue sheets spilling over the side of the bed and trailing, just barely, on the floor. The window looked over the street and the few tall buildings around the neighborhood. On the other side of the room was a desk which was piled with text books but clear of any papers. It told Hiei that Yusuke never used that desk except to keep things out of the way. Also that, since the text books looked brand new, the boy never studied - which meant he probably didn't attend school all that often.  
  
Hiei moved slowly to the pile of books and picked one up, cracking it open and letting his eyes take in the site of letters and words for the very first time. "Yusuke," Hiei said, his voice breaking the sound of the other boys packing. He didn't look at the teen though, his red eyes were still locked on the contense of the book in his hands. "Do you know how to read?"  
  
Yusuke stilled and turned around. "Of course," he told the smaller boy, his voice surprised. "That was the first thing that Keiko hounded me on. She got me hooked on detective novels too - that was before the girl turned evil though."  
  
Hiei frowned, his eyebrows lowering slightly. He suddenly snapped the book closed and turned back to face Yusuke. "Could you teach me how to read?" He asked finally.  
  
"You don't know how?!"  
  
"It was never important in Hell. All we needed to know was how to count to one hundred and how to survive without being beaten by the guards."  
  
Yusuke flinched and shoved some formal looking clothes into his bad as a distraction. He finally turned aorund again, only to be attacked by Hiei's pleading, hopeful expression. "Alright... ALRIGHT! Just stop looking at me like that! I'll teach you how to read."  
  
Hiei smirked and lifted the entire pile of books into his arms as though they weighed nothing at all. "Do you have anything I can put these in?" Walking around town behind a big pile of books would be a difficult thing to accomplish, especially for one of his size.  
  
Yusuke blanched. "You want to read all of *those*?" He asked.  
  
Hiei looked at him, eyes barely visible because of the sheer amount of books he was holding. "I never do anything half-way." He told him.  
  
"At least take some novels," Yusuke argued, gesturing to the shelf at the foot of his bed where about two dozen books were neatly lined up. "Text books on math and science are boring."  
  
Hiei looked thoughtful. "Alright," he said. "Take your favorite books too."  
  
With an eyeroll and a sweatdrop, Yusuke complied, shoving the entirity of the bookshelf into a second bag and indicating that Hiei could place all the text books in there as well. As an after though, Yusuke tossed in a couple empty notebooks and a few pens and pencils, so that Hiei could practice his letters. Hiei placed his pile of books in the bag and lifted it as though it were full of pillows and not heavy books. Yusuke wasn't sure, but at that moment he would have sworn that he saw a warm purple glow emmiting from behind Hiei's head band - where his third eye was hidden.  
  
"When ever you're ready to go." Yusuke told the other boy. Hiei nodded to him and began walking towards the door. "We have to talk to Keiko still, and my school." Yusuke added, following Hiei down the stairs and into the room where his mother was passed out.  
  
  
  
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The trip to Keiko's house, and then Yusuke's school afterwards were quick and pointless, in Hiei's oppinion. They stopped at Keiko's first, to which Hiei couldn't find a meaning other for Yusuke to say goodbye disguised as rubbing in the girls face the fact that he was leaving their dumpy life and she was stuck with Kuwabara. The trip to the school took just a little longer. The school principal didn't beleive that Yusuke had been accepted into a foreign exchange student program. The man kept trying to trick Yusuke into telling him the real reason for leaving the school.  
  
The man then realized that he was late for a meeting and had to leave. But only after firmly ordering Yusuke to remain in his office until he returned. The two boys were off school grounds two minutes later. Hiei was once again playing his role as "little brother" clinging determindly to Yusuke's hand. It seemed that the smaller boy was afraid of crowded places, and the streets of Tokyo at noon were just that.  
  
"So where are-"  
  
"Shuuichi and his little sister were going to the park this afternoon, Onnisan," Hiei cut him off, using his best little-boy voice. "Can we go see them?"  
  
Yusuke blinked in confusion but years of adapting allowed him to catch on fairly quickly.  
  
"I don't know, Squirt," he said, rubbing his free hand through his hair, the other still being tightly grasped by a small mittened hand. "The last time we spent time with them you and Shuuichi's sister wouldn't climb out of the tree you had scaled." He was proud he managed to sound disapproving, like an older brother would.  
  
Hiei sent him a curious look, obviously wanting to know why he had said that. Yusuke simply shook his head. He starting walking in the direction of the largest park in Tokyo, in which he and Hiei could begin the first of a long series of reading lessons. But upon arriving at the park, the two boys sat down under a tree - even though the group was cold and wet - and remained silent. Yusuke made no move to begin any lessons, and neither did Hiei, who seemed quite content to just share his warmth with his shivering friend.  
  
They were both deep in thought. Yusuke's mind kept circling over the last twenty-four hours. How a simple night out to see some singers had changed his whole world. How just the day before he didn't even know who the person resting against his side was. How little he knew but how much he wanted to learn about the person who shoulders his arm had drapped across.  
  
Without even thinking about what he was doing, Yusuke's free hand reached up and softly felt the white strip of cloth covering Hiei's third eye. Hiei shied away from his fingers, ducking his head and pushing himself a little further into Yusuke's warmth.  
  
"The doctors called it a Jagan." Hiei said, unexpectedly breaking the silence. "It was implanted as a test of my control. They had first modified me to be best suited for control over fire, I can create it from nothing and I'm completely fire-proof. But then they decided that wasn't enough so they injected me with a chemical to increase my metabolism so that I could move faster. It took me a very long time to recover and adapt to what they did to me, so long infact that they nearly forgot about me. I remained in the rehabitation chamber for a very long time, I don't even remember how long it was. But then they discovered the Jagan, and well anybody was a prime experiment at that point. They just grabbed a few people and tried to see if they would take. Anybody who could handle it was called a Jaganshi - a master of the Eye. The implanted Jagan was supposed to give the experiment telekenetic powers, and telepathic abilities." Hiei paused, his red eyes flaring with anger and resentment.  
  
Yusuke belatedly relized that Hiei's skin temperature was raising like a bonfire, and that the "Jaganshi" was pushing himself further into his embrace. The smaller hid his face in Yusuke's arm, taking a few deep breathes to lower his temperature and regain his control.  
  
"Because of the Jagan, I can't sleep at night. I went *years* without sleeping. It was so much easier after I met Kurama - he was the first person I ever let into my mind." Hiei yawned and Yusuke felt amazed that the Jaganshi, master of the Eye, trusted him enough to tell secrets and even sleep in his presense. Hiei's red eyes dropped closed and he seemed to become boneless, resting himself against Yusuke as he relaxed enough to not quite sleep, but rest his mind.  
  
"Urameshi," a deep nasally voice echoed across the almost empty park. "What are you doing to that little kid?"  
  
Yusuke looked up at the bulky form of Kuwabara. "Eh... my cousin arrived late last night... and he's a little worn out from the trip." He said, trying to come up with a good cover story.  
  
Kuwabara snorted, bending his knees to get a closer look at the boy leaning against his friend. "He looks like a little punk... Heh! He must get it from you!"  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Did you *want* something Kuwabara. I'm waiting for somebody from the Exchange Student program. They're supposed to meet me here."  
  
At just that moment, Kurama and Yukina walked up. "Yusuke Urameshi?" Kurama asked with a playful smile alighting his freatures.  
  
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. Kuwabara's mouth fell open.  
  
"My name is Shuuichi Minamino, I'm from the Exchange Student program. This is my assistant Yukina Koorime."  
  
Yusuke grinned, catching on. He stood up and tugged Hiei to his feet as well. "Nice to meet you, this is Hiei Jaganshi, he's supposed to be enrolled in the program as well."  
  
Kurama nodded. "Of course, we were told that he would be waiting with you. Now, if you have nothing to take care of, Yukina and I have quite a few things to talk to you about regarding the program and the rules you will be following. Also about your host family and things like that... if you would follow me please?"  
  
Yusuke nodded, leaning down to pick up his bag. Hiei grabbed the bag full of books, tugging his hat down a little lower over his spiky hair. Getting caught this far in the game, by a fool no less, was not in his plans.  
  
"See ya, Kuwabara." Yusuke called back to the bewildered boy. The other's smirked and continued walking.  
  
  
  
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The next night, Kurama and Hiei once again sang at a local but dirty club. Yusuke posed as their manager, while Yukina sat in the crowd, hiddin in a dark corner booth, making sure that nobody from Hell was watching and waiting for the ideal moment to make a capture. They eventually left, the boys each with three hundred Credits more then they had started the night with, and Yukina with a handful of phone numbers scribbled on napkins.  
  
Hiei didn't look pleased when he saw the sheer amount of papers in her hand. In fact, he was so enraged that he took them from her and set them all on fire. Yusuke blinked at the sudden black flames that sudden engulfed the boys hand. Yukina simply giggled.  
  
"You're so protective of me, Onnisan!" She said lightly.  
  
Hiei scowled at her and the group of four began making their way towards the Tokyo docks. Kurama had decided that the best way for them to travel was to take a boat. Their destination would depend on how cheap the tickes were. They could end up any where from Eastern Asia to an island in the south of Japan.  
  
"It looks like going south is deffinetly our best bet," Yusuke said, reading the prices and destinations outloud to his three illeriate friends. He paused and turned to look at them curiously. "How have you been traveling if you can't read the traveling boards?"  
  
The three blinked at him. "We had somebody else read it to us," Yukina explained.  
  
Yusuke blinked right back at them before shrugging and shouldering his bag. "Ah, well. It doesn't really matter I guess. You got here, that's all that really matters. It looks like it will take two days before we reach the next port. Let's go get our tickets shall we?"  
  
Hiei, Yukina and Kurama smiled, retrieved their own things and followed him to the ticket booth. They each paid for their own tickets, with the exception of Yukina, for which, Hiei paid. And then they boarded the boat. Then, tickets in hand they boarded the boat and moved to stand near the stern - to have the best view of the ocean as they left shore.  
  
"They say that when you travel you leave behind everything." Kurama said softly. "Let's just hope we can also leave our pasts, and that they don't catch up to us."  
  
Hiei snorted. "You stupid fox," he muttered. "Our pasts will always catch up with us. Hell has a way of finding its minions."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN REVIEW!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	4. Part 4: Ill Omens

Disclaimer: Is in the first chapter, and will remain there.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
AN Er... hello. Gomen for the long wait, I'll try to make my updates faster. This wasn't nearly as long as I hoped it would be, but that's just the way the planning went. Oh well. So, in this I explain about Yukina's past, add a little action and introduce something new about Kurama. ^__^ Quite a successful chapter. Go ahead and read.  
  
I'll wait for you're reviews (granted this is good enough to get them).  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 4: Ill Omens  
  
  
  
In a fairly small and uncomfortable room in the lower levels of the Makai Sailor, a girl with power over ice carefully stroked the silky fur of the five tailed fox in her lap. Yukina would never have guessed that Kurama would suffer from sea sickness. She knew that Hiei was claustrophobic and panicked in large crowds. Yusuke had told her that he feared flying - but she never would have thought that Kurama wouldn't tolerate something as simple as motion sickness.  
  
The door of the room creaked open and Yusuke entered, sending a curious look over at the silver fox. "Is he any better?" The delinquent asked, sitting down on the 'table' that the room came with.  
  
Yukina shook her head, still petting Kurama's slightly green form. While she ran her fingers through his fur, the young looking girl focused one of her 'quirks' into her hands and allowed something akin to 'healing powers' flow into the fox. "No," she finally said softly. "But he hadn't gotten any worse either."  
  
The green tinted silver fox gave a pitiful little barking moan, snuggling a little closer into Yukina's cool lap. His five tails twitched feebly, while two furry ears drooped.  
  
"Where's Hiei?" Yusuke asked, trying not to laugh at how truly pathetic Kurama really looked. "It's getting dark, and cold."  
  
"He's probably on the top deck. Hiei hates enclosed and crowded spaces." Yukina told him. "I'll go up and get him in a minute or so. Just as soon as Kurama can manage to switch forms without rushing for the bathroom."  
  
Yusuke snickered.  
  
  
  
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Hiei stood silently, staring out to sea and up at the stars. He felt calm inside, peaceful - which was a feeling that came to him very rarely. The freezing night air whipped his dark clothing back as though trying to rip it from his slender frame. His hair ruffled back, but he wasn't cold. The others on the deck, looking up at the magnificent view of the stars were shivering from cold, but not him. The fire in his blood kept him plenty warm enough.  
  
"Hey kid. Aren't 'ya cold?"  
  
The Jaganshi turned slowly to the human who was standing behind him. The man, obviously one of the sailors seeing how there were no other passengers on the boat, looked about middle aged and freezing cold. He was bundled up so tightly that it was a wonder his blood could still circulate through his body without problems.  
  
The boat that they had chosen wasn't exactly small, but it was fairly cramped and dirty. The crew alone was small, with the addition of the four passengers it was downright cramped. Behind his bandanna, Hiei's Jagan glowed dimly, reading the man's aura. This man must be a part of one of a small family, he had two kids back in Japan, which gave him all the more reason to want to baby somebody.  
  
"I'm not cold." Hiei quite bluntly said in response to the man's question. Turning away both literally and figuratively. The glow of his Jagan faded as he let his 'sight' slip away.  
  
"Are you sure? You aren't wearing clothing fit for this weather." The man insisted on questioning Hiei, making the small figure very irritated, and very uncomfortable - part of the reason for irritation. The man placed one of his frozen hands on Hiei's bare arm, and Hiei hissed in both surprise and sudden fear. He hated it when people he didn't know touched him. Just as Hiei was tensing, reaching for his sword - his sister found him.  
  
"Onnisan." the girl beamed, as unaffected to the cold as her brother was. "There you are! Shuu-chan and Yu-chan were worried because it's gotten so late and you still hadn't come back to your quarters yet." In other words Yusuke and Kurama were getting worried. The three experiments had taken Yusuke's advice in not calling each other by their real names in public. She made her way to her brother's side and discretely pushed the katana back into its sheath.  
  
"They shouldn't be worried." Hiei muttered. "I'm fine."  
  
The man behind the two seemingly children cleared his throat and removed his hand from Hiei's arm. "You kids should get down below with your friends before you catch a cold."  
  
Well, it would have been good advice if the man hadn't been taking to a boy with fire in his blood and a girl with ice in hers. The two exchanged glances and decided to humor him. Better to have one man think he did a good deed then a suspicious ship load of people. Yukina bowed politely to the man, took a hold of Hiei's hand in her own mittened one and pulled him to their quarters. Kurama was sleeping, once again in his full human form and Yusuke was reading one of the novels he had brought when Hiei and Yukina entered the small cabin.  
  
The blue haired girl went straight to Kurama's side, resting her cool hands against his fevered brow. Hiei's eyes remained locked on the book in Yusuke's hands.  
  
Yusuke obviously noticed his gaze and looked up with a smile. "Would you like to learn how to read now?"  
  
The Jaganshi nodded eagerly, darting forward to sit at Yusuke's side. Yukina giggled softly, trying to disguise her humor as laughter directed at Kurama.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
A few hours later, well after midnight, Hiei woke with a start. He was being held tightly, but it wasn't in Kurama's familiar arms. He could just barely see Kurama's body still lying on the cot he had been sleeping in before Hiei himself had fallen asleep. Hiei flushed upon realizing that it was Yusuke who held him in such a comforting and strong grip. He and Yusuke were curled up on the floor in the general place that the two had been reading before they had fallen asleep. Learning to read, Hiei had been depressed to discover, was going to take a very long time. He had only managed to learn the alphabet, the sounds that each letter made were still a mystery to him. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Hiei scanned the room again, looking for his sister. But Yukina was no where to be seen.  
  
Thinking that his sister had probably only gone to the bathroom, Hiei turned his mind back to the dream he had been having before waking. No, it wasn't a dream. It had been another vision. But the vision had been the strangest one yet. Everything in it had been red, the color of Hiei's eyes, the color of blood. It gleamed wetly as though dripping down a wall, dripping into Hiei's Jagan. And from the blood had emerged a large bird, most likely a bird of prey, with black eyes that continuously roamed, searching for *something*. Hiei had watched as the bird swooped, dove and circled over large cities and empty waters. The bird flew with power, grace but also danger. The gleaming talons of the bird's claws were silver tools. Its beak was a vial for poisons. The bird itself was a weapon of destruction, searching for those it would ultimately destroy. And then the bird, while looking in another direction crashed into a four paned window - sending glass and blood everywhere. More blood dripped down the walls, into the Jagan, out of cuts on Hiei's skin.  
  
And that had been when Hiei woke up.  
  
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Hiei frowned upon realizing that Yukina still hadn't returned. He wiggled free of Yusuke's grasp and hit the ground with a decent sounding thump. Seconds later, he was standing on the top deck of the boat, bandanna off of his third eye, searching for his sister. He "found" her in the lowest deck of the boat, surrounded by a group of very drunk men. Such was the extent of his Jagan. With it he could see over great distances, it was almost like have a security camera and microphone wired right into his forehead. An excellent way of keeping tack of the people he needed to protect. And right now, he *needed* to protect Yukina. She was on the lowest deck of the boat, surrounded by a gang of men who were slowly inching closer to her. One was holding a long, jagged looking knife, others had bars of metal or stakes. They seemed determined to hear the pretty girl scream.  
  
Hiei very nearly burst into flame. Lucky he didn't because the boat was made of wood and nothing would survive. With an annoyed twitch of his right eyebrow, Hiei made his way to his sister's side in the amount of time it would take to blink. He knew his sister probably wasn't in any danger, but he had promised that nothing bad would ever happen to her, and he intended to keep that promise. The fire controlling experiment paused outside the 'door' to the ships equivalent to a basement. The cold coming from inside the boat was enough to make even *him* shiver. It also meant that Yukina was either very scared, or very angry. And neither of which were good things.  
  
"Imouto-san?" He called somewhat hesitantly. The last thing he needed was for his sister to layer him in ice. When she was angry, nothing short of unconsciousness could calm her. Hearing no reply, Hiei carefully took a few steps, making sure to remain as quiet as possible. With a sigh of relief, Hiei realized that Yukina wasn't angry enough to attack him without reason and moved to stand at her side.  
  
"Calm down, imouto-san," he said softly, trying not to wince as he placed his hand on hers.  
  
Yukina blinked, her eyes clearing. The room temperature, however, remained the same, instead of steadily decreasing. The men standing in what could have been threatening poses around her collapsed to the ground. It seemed that they wouldn't be moving any time soon, due to the fact that their feet were frozen to the ground.  
  
"She's a witch!" One man shivered out, pointing wildly.  
  
Another gasped against the cold, his skin nearly blue. "What is she? How did she do that?"  
  
"Sound the alarm! Get them off this ship!"  
  
Hiei grunted, steeled his nerves and lifted his frozen sister into his bare arms before disappearing back into their room. Kurama was already awake, looking slightly better then he had before. His green eyes narrowed slightly when the two suddenly appeared in the room.  
  
"What did you do?" He asked suspiciously.  
  
"Not now, Fox." Hiei said softly. "There's been a slight change in our plans. We have to get off of this boat now. Right now."  
  
Kurama blinked before glancing over at Yukina, who returned his look with a guilty one of her own. "I'm sorry, Kurama." She said softly. "I was scared."  
  
Kurama sighed. "Alright. Yukina, you go secure one of the life-rafts. Lower it as far as you can. I will pack what ever we might need and try to wake Yusuke. Hiei, you raid the kitchens for what ever food you can find. We'll meet up on the top deck in two minutes." The other two nodded and disappeared.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Waking Yusuke was a task easier said than done. Kurama ended up dowsing the teen with a bucket of water. A very cold bucket of water.  
  
"There's an emergency," the red head explained. "Hiei and Yukina are waiting for us up top."  
  
Yusuke blinked, shivered and scrambled to help the red head gather their things. The two then silently made their way to up the narrow stairs. Kurama hurried them towards Yukina, who was systematically freezing the chains holding a life boat in place. Such was the cold of her ice that the solid metal chains became brittle and snapped at the light pressure she used to break them apart. The boat she wanted sprung free just as Hiei appeared, seemingly out of nowhere at all, and the three boys tipped the boat over the side of their ship. Just as it splashed below, a group of sailors rushed onto the deck and spotted them.  
  
Hiei recognized them as the ones from down below.  
  
Yukina gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. But before she could move, or the group of people could charge - Hiei raised his hand and a pillar of black fire separated the two groups. Kurama turned to Yusuke, gave him a few simple instructions, grabbed their bags and hopped over the edge. Yusuke made sure Kurama got to the boat before grabbing Yukina's hand.  
  
"Don't let go!" He instructed just as they jumped. To his amazement, they didn't land on open water like he expected. But ice. It wasn't slippery ice that was beginning to melt, but something that his shoes could find traction on and grip. And inside the ice were sturdy looking branch and vines. "How..."  
  
"Hiei and I are opposites," Yukina said briskly as she froze more of the water around the strange plants into that easy-grip ice. "He is of fire and destruction, while I am of ice and healing. The doctors had a great fascination with twins."  
  
Yusuke nodded and clambered into the boat Kurama was already seated in. Seconds later, Hiei had joined them. Kurama glanced first at Hiei, then at the burning ship. He sighed, running his hand though his hair. Then, to Yusuke's complete amazement, something began growing in his hand. It was some sort of plant. Before the boy could get a good look, Kurama thrust the plant into the water and their little boat began speeding away.  
  
"I have a gift over plants," Kurama explained shortly. "It was given to me after I had recovered from the personality splitting. This plant works like a motor, we will reach a shore soon."  
  
Yusuke nodded.  
  
While they sped along, Yukina began explaining her past to Yusuke, hers being the only one that he didn't know about.  
  
"When Hiei and I were born," she began, watching with a sad sort of amusement as her brother carefully avoided eye contact with anybody. "The Doctors kept us together to see how similar and different we were. During our mother's pregnancy, they had injected us with chemicals to quicken our learning processes - the both of us could walk and talk within four months of birth. But because of those chemicals our growth had been stunted. After two years of being together, we were separated for individual testing. I was injected with chemicals and formulas to lower my body temperature. I can create ice from nothing, just as I can freeze any liquid by touching it. After they finished testing on me, I was sent to a strange chamber and injected with yet another chemical. It was designed to help me heal by using just my control over ice. That is why my hair is this color." Yukina sighed and touched her teal colored hair, "a result of the chemicals already in my body and those injected later on strengthened my aura until I could force it into somebody and in a sense, heal them."  
  
Yusuke blinked, suddenly noticing that tears were streaking down the pretty girl's face. Because of her body temperature, the tears froze halfway down her cheeks to land on the boat floor - hard and beautiful as gems.  
  
"Years and years later, I was brought back to where Hiei and I had been separated and I barely recognized him. We tried to embrace, but with the changes made to us, if we held each other for too long, we would die. My ice was much too cold for him, and his fire was too much for me. The Doctors gloated, saying twins were the best for testing. Opposites, they said, instead of identical. But there was something they didn't take into consideration, even though Hiei and I couldn't hold each other for comfort, we still loved each other. We would still protect each other. That made the Doctors angry and they separated us again. They told me that they had killed Hiei. I didn't know he was still alive until he came with Kurama to break me out."  
  
Yukina's eyes watered again, but this time her tears were based on joy. The frozen tears clattered on the bottom of the boat. Kurama reached his free hand over to the girl, gathering her up in a one-armed hug. Hiei, on the other hand, turned to Yusuke. The delinquent was shivering and slowly turning blue because of the water Kurama had thrown on him to wake him up. The small fire-starter pulled Yusuke in a hug similar to how Kurama was holding Yukina. And almost immediately, Yusuke's shivers began to slow.   
  
The rest of the trip was in a comfortable silence. Yusuke, Hiei and Yukina falling asleep while Kurama directed their boat to where he could feel the aura's of plants.  
  
Surprisingly, they reached shore about two hours later. Kurama landed the boat on a dirty beach a few miles north of the main docks, pulling his motor-plant out of the water as he did so. The plant remained in his hand for a moment before almost un-growing, shrinking until it was once again just a seed. Hiei torched the boat and the group began walking towards the nearest town.  
  
And in the sky, not too far behind them, a hawk flew, its black eyes searching.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
=========================================  
  
  
  
~Quick Dictionary~  
  
Imouto-san: I'm told means little sister.  
  
Oniisan: means older brother  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
AN Er.. Again sorry for the long wait. I'll try to post faster next time. Review and I'll update.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	5. Part 5: Escape

Disclaimer: all characters recognized do not belong to me. The song used in this chapter "Tears of Pearls" By Savage Garden, also does not belong to me. (Song in first chapter is not mine either.)  
  
  
  
AN Guess what! Something exciting happens in this chapter! It's towards the end, and I leave you all with a really nasty cliff-hanger, but that's alright! It could have been a lot worse. (I'm also on something akin to a sugar-high right now). So, I'm going to post this, you're going to read it - and review! YAY! REVIEW!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 5: Escape  
  
  
  
"I think it would be best," Kurama said firmly, not moving from his seat on the stiff bed of the room they had rented. He and Hiei were discussing their money situation. Hiei thought they should continue traveling to the next town, Kurama wanted to make an appearance at a local club for some extra Credits.  
  
Hiei, sitting on the window sill and staring into the surrounding scenery, slumped his shoulders. "If you think it's really necessary Fox," he finally said. "Than it must be. If you can find someone willing to pay us - you know I'll sing with you."  
  
Kurama nodded at Hiei's decision. "We'll leave in a few minutes then."  
  
A giggle from the other side of the room turned their attention to Yusuke and Yukina, both of whom were watching television. Yukina especially was delighted with the experience she had only had once before. When Hiei and Kurama had been curious about what television was, they had fed it one of their credits. But the two had quickly grown bored while Yukina became fascinated. Rarely was the Ice Maiden allowed something so simple as watching a box with moving pictures.  
  
Yusuke suddenly looked up. "Oi, Hiei - have you learned all the sounds of the alphabet yet?"  
  
The boy in the window blinked, turning to face Yusuke fully. "Of course, you taught them to me last night."  
  
Yusuke nodded and rummaged through his bag until he found the packet of papers he had written down the alphabet on, and Hiei had been using to copy the letters so that his hand would become familiar with writing. "You can recite them to me while Kurama and Yukina are getting ready."  
  
Hiei brightened. "Okay."  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
The trip into town to find a suitable club was quiet. Hiei and Yukina were once again donning the clothing that made them appear as children. Kurama's hair was hidden and Yusuke was wearing normal clothes, rather than his green school uniform.  
  
"How about that one?" Kurama asked, pointing to a grubby looking club a little ways down the street. Red electrical letters, two burnt out, others fizzing to try to remain lit, spelled out "Noir Falco". A black painting of a large bird was on the door of the club.  
  
Hiei squinted at the letters that were beginning to look familiar to him. The small child-like figure attempted to sound out the words, but as he didn't know all the rules of pronunciation, he could only get "Fal-co" which he didn't know the meaning of. He got the gist, however, because of the painting on the door.  
  
"Black Falcon," Yusuke muttered the translation under his breath. "What a cheerful name."  
  
The other three didn't hear him. They were already removing the articles of clothing that hid their identities. The group of four then started walking calmly down the very busy street - gathering the stares of all who had already heard of them - towards the "Noir Falco". Whispers followed in their wake. It was Kurama and Hiei who stepped up to the ticket window to purchase a spot on the in-list so that they might enter the club later that night. If all went according to plan, they would be immediately recognized and given a deal to sing that night.  
  
As they wanted, the girl at the window gaped and pointed. "It's *you*!" She managed to shriek. "You're Hiei and Kurama!" She hurried to unlock the front doors and ushered them into the club. "Let me go get the manager!" The girl said excitedly, she pointed at some chairs for them to sit in.  
  
They sat.  
  
She ran off.  
  
The club they were now sitting in was fairly well lit, and very empty. Its layout was similar to most clubs of its kind. Booths and tables were pushed against three of the four walls, with a dance floor in the middle of the room. A make-shift stage was pushed against the forth wall. Black lights were placed over each of the tables and were scattered above the dance floor. The walls were painted black with a metallic type of red paint over it like flames. The red would look amazing against the black-lights. On the wooden surfaces of the tables were carved out messages like "This music bites" or "I was here" or "Jin+Touya 4ever". Hiei challenged himself with reading the table top. While he did that, Kurama and Yukina watched slightly amused, but slightly envious that their small companion was becoming quite literate. Kurama extracted a promise from Yusuke to teach them how to read as well.  
  
The group of travelers hardly had to wait five minutes before a short, bulky man walked into the room. His head was rather shiny, probably sweat from the heat of the room, and his clothes looked rich and expensive if unwashed and smelling of body odor.  
  
"Maria tells me that you are famous singers." He said gruffly, stopping next to the table they were seated at.  
  
"Hardly famous," Kurama said politely. "But we are well known." He stood up and bowed, "my name is Shuuichi, sir. But on stage I am known as Kurama. This is my partner..."  
  
"You can call me Hiei." Hiei muttered, obviously surprising the man with his deeper than expected voice. He nodded in what could be either polite of annoyed, the difference being difficult to determine.  
  
Kurama laughed softly. "And this is our manager, Urameshi-sama. And our song artist, Miss Koorime."  
  
The two nodded politely at the manager. Of course, this was the first time that Yukina would be posing as an actual member of "the band". It was only a ploy in which the four would get that much more money. Especially if they wanted to keep traveling the way they did. The manager looked as though this were his lucky day. "You wouldn't be willing to sing here tonight would you?" He asked, trying not to sound too eager. "That is, if it's alright with your managers." He shot a smile in Yusuke's direction. "I would be willing to pay you what ever you desired."  
  
He would be willing to do that, because at every club Hiei and Kurama had sung at thus far had made triple the usual amount of money than it would in a week. In one night. Three hundred credits each would seem like nothing compared to the real profit.  
  
Yusuke frowned, just like he had at the last club they had shown up unexpectedly at. He wanted to seem like a decent manager, after all. And if they walked in and accepted the job it might seem a bit suspicious. "We just wanted to see the show, and have a bit of time to unwind our nerves." He said, "but it's up to you two, what do you think?"  
  
Kurama and Hiei glanced at each other. The club owner was nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet, all dignity forgotten. A little ways behind him, the girl, Maria, was pretending to wipe off a table top. Her gaze was locked on the group across the room.  
  
"Alright." Kurama said softly. "Our normal price is three hundred credits each per night. And of course, three hundred each for our managers as well."  
  
The manager nodded. "Perfect. We open at seven, be here around then. You'll go on at about eight, does that sound good?"  
  
The four nodded and stood up, thanking the man for his kind offer. Now that they had that accomplished, they had a day to waste. Kurama suggested shopping for decent preforming clothes.  
  
Hiei sulked until Yusuke challenged him to sound out any words he saw. The day went by fairly quickly and they arrived back at the Noir Falco exactly at seven. Hiei and Kurama were hurried into their 'dressing room' by the easily excitable Maria, from earlier that morning. Yusuke and Yukina stood backstage, trying to look important. Rather, Yusuke stood backstage while Yukina pulled out what looked to be a stack of tapes. She softly explained to Yusuke that the tapes had been a gift from an old women they had met a month ago, when they had first run away from Hell. The woman had been extremely kind and offered them a place to stay for the night, she had given them clothes and money. She had shown them what kindness and unconditional love was. She told them that they had to find a way to keep earning money. Hiei and Kurama had learned the songs on the tapes and the women had edited the songs so that it was only music. And after that, she had brought them to the club her son owned and requested that he let the two boys sing. They had been an instant hit and newspapers quickly took notice. In a sense, the songs that Hiei and Kurama sung were so old nobody even knew they existed any more, and were therefore original. The woman had died of old age during the last night Hiei, Kurama and Yukina had stayed at her house, and she took their secret with her to the grave.  
  
When Kurama and Hiei finally emerged from their bathroom-turned-dressing-room, Yusuke's eyes bugged. Kurama, as usual, looked stunning. His white and red hair cascaded graceful over his shoulders, fox ears twitching on the top of his head in what seemed to be nervous anticipation. But what was truly stunning was his clothing. Instead of his usual pristine white shirt and slacks, he was clad in a dark red Kimono. A black jeweled flower was on his chest, its thorny stem twisting around the flower and over his shoulder. The red of his clothing went perfectly with his hair, not to mention his complexion. Under his kimono he wore pure black, to match the flower on his chest. Yusuke belatedly realized that it was a rose.  
  
But the real surprise was Hiei. The smaller was, as usual, clad in black. His habitual slacks and shirt, were, like Kurama's, abandoned for the exchange of a black Kimono. Blood red jewels sparkled down his shoulder in the form of a dragon, and his customary Katana gleamed a deadly light from his side. Under his kimono he wore a dark red that was identical to the color of Kurama's kimono, matching the dragon across his shoulder in the process. The two outfits complemented each other perfectly, even more so because the two wearing them contrasted in everything from appearance to attitude.  
  
Plus, they both looked absolutely gorgeous. Much older and mature than Yusuke normally saw.  
  
"Onnisan," Yukina breathed, just as amazed with the sight of her brother as Yusuke was. "You look stunning!"  
  
Hiei's cheeks quickly brightened to pink and he altered his gaze to the floor.  
  
Kurama, obviously seeing this, pouted exaggeratedly. "What about me?" He demanded in a false haughty voice.  
  
Yukina laughed. "You look amazing." She told the fox, "as you always do." She moved to kiss both boys quickly on the cheeks.  
  
Kurama laughed, but before he could say something else, the manager walked over to them, a scowl plastered across his features. He briefly informed them that if the two singers were ready, the stage was waiting. Kurama bowed mockingly to him in thanks, while Hiei kept up his tradition of lifting a finger in a very rude salute.  
  
In true fashion, the lights fell and the music dimmed, telling the crowd that the reason why they were there that night was ready to preform. The girls all shrieked and sighed upon seeing the two gorgeous guys walking onto the stage, while the guys rolled their eyes in both envy and good humor. Yukina signaled to the person at the sound board and soft music began before swelling into a tidal wave of sound. Hiei began singing this time, his eyes locked on the dancing flames painted on the walls around him.  
  
  
  
"And we stare each other down, Like victims in the grind. Probing all the weakness, And hurt still left behind. And we cry the tears of pearls. We do it. Oh we do."  
  
  
  
His voice carried what seemed to be even more emotions than when he usually sang. It was clear that this was a song that reminded him of his sister - the girl whose tears froze into beautiful and priceless gems. Ice that would never melt.  
  
  
  
"Is love really the tragedy, The way you might describe? Or would a thousand lovers, Still leave you cold inside? Make you cry... These tears of pearls."?  
  
  
  
Kurama continued the song, his voice making the girls swoon at his feet. He winked at a few of them, his half and half form and personality obviously giving his confidence a boost so that he was comfortable with flirting openly. He carried on singing the next verse of the song, Hiei joining in so that their voices rose and swelled in harmony.  
  
  
  
"All these mixed emotions, We keep locked away, Like stolen pearls. Stolen pearl devotions, We keep locked away, From all the world."  
  
  
  
With the chorus sung, they went back to individual verses. Always alternating.   
  
  
  
"Your kisses rare like pearls, So different and so rare. But anger stole the jewels away, And love has left you bare. Made you cry... These tears of pearls."  
  
  
  
Hiei sang, still staring sightlessly at the red flames on the walls. He didn't notice the hoard of girls throwing themselves at his feet, swooning at his deep voice and attractive self. He didn't notice Yusuke's eyes locked on him, in both awe and affection. He noticed nothing except the emotions this song made him feel.  
  
  
  
"Well I could be the tried joker,/ Pour my heart to get you in. Sacrifice my happiness, Just so I could win. Maybe cry these tears of pearls."  
  
  
  
But Kurama noticed while he was singing. He smiled at the crowd around the stage, winked and "made eyes" at a few of the girls. When ever he did that though, the girls passed out, so he stopped and turned his full attention to the song.  
  
  
  
"All these mixed emotions, We keep locked away, Like stolen pearls. Stolen pearls devotions, We keep locked away, From all the world."  
  
  
  
Hiei and Kurama once again joined up for the chorus, their voices rising again with the swell of the music. The emotions brought forth from the song rising in their chests like a bird. Like a Noir Falco, just as the club was named.  
  
  
  
"We twist and turn where angels burn, Like fallen soldiers we will learn. That once forgotten, twice removed, Love will be the death. The death of you."  
  
  
  
Back stage, Yukina and Yusuke watched the two preform and scanned the club at the same time. Yusuke didn't quite know what they were checking for. Yukina had only explained that the man sent after them would be tall, with dark shades and a large coat. The henchmen of Hell, head guard, and Doctor-in-trainng. A man named Togoru who wouldn't hesitate in killing them should he deem it necessary.  
  
  
  
"All these mixed emotions, We keep locked away, Like stolen pearls. Stolen pearls devotions we keep, Locked away from all the world."  
  
  
  
Just as the song ended, Hiei felt the hair on his arms rise from the chill of air sweeping across the stage. As the only cold he ever felt was that his sister could produce, his eyes focused, even as a new song began pounding through the sound system. He followed Kurama's lead and continued singing, but now his eyes were darting from face to face, looking for what had set off his sister. With a fallen heart and terrified eyes, he finally found the man sent after them. He was sitting in the very back corner of the room. He looked as though he were napping, dark hair mused slightly, shades slipping down his nose to reveal his eyes, which were closed. The habitual long coat was pulled tightly around him, bottles of alcohol littered his table, one was half empty, but turned on its side as though knocked over. Beer dripped onto the floor, puddling around the black boot there.  
  
Hiei felt the ripple of fear race through Kurama when the fox, too, spotted Togoru. The rest of their performance was a blur, neither having anything even remotely akin to fun while singing on stage. Neither could wait for the songs to be over, and both were extremely thankful that the manager had even offered to pay them in advance so that they wouldn't have to hang around afterwards and be mobbed by the crowd.  
  
Finally, *finally*, an hour later they bowed lowly and booked it off stage. Yukina met them, already in her little girl outfit, holding out the clothing that would disguise the two boys. Yusuke suddenly appeared, holding both the tapes and the duffle bags, not at all disturbed at the weight of two dozen books and all the possessions that the three in front of him owned.  
  
"We'll go out the back door," Hiei said softly, pulling his hat low over his head. "There is a fence there that blocks the path to a forest. If we can get there, Kurama can use his gift to our advantage."  
  
The others nodded and they started for the back door. Upon opening it, they discovered that their chances of escape might not be in their favor. The back lot of the club was piled with boxes and crates, garbage and decay. And it was utterly dark, the only light being that from the open door. Taking a deep breath, they began walking, the door swung shut behind them.  
  
Every breath they took seemed to echo and burst their ear drums. Every crunch of a footstep seemed to shatter time into fragments and leave them panting in pain. The fear that his three friends felt engulfed Yusuke, so that he too was completely and utterly terrified. Their nerves were shaking, just waiting for something to happen.  
  
And it did.  
  
A window they hadn't seen suddenly shattered, glass exploding everywhere. The four who were at that point halfway across the yard were cut from the shards. Yukina screamed, Hiei yelled and Kurama - vanished. With a fox-like bark, the red haired human turned into a five tailed fox and tugged the Ice-Maiden onto his back. He began running while Yusuke and Hiei were helpless, having been closer to the explosion and bearing more wounds. The two were on the ground, unsteady because of the blast. They didn't even notice Kurama had taken Yukina and fled until they were able to make their own escape.  
  
Hiei's hands were pressing against his forehead, blood was dripping between his fingertips. The Jagan there was bleeding. Yusuke's chest had been ripped to shreds, his arms as well, having been pulled in instinctively to protect himself.  
  
"Hiei." A voice said calmly, a figure stepping out of the shadows. "You don't cover your tracks well, do you?"  
  
Hiei only moaned in agony, folding in on himself and clutching at his third eye.  
  
The figure took a few more steps, reaching with one hand into a pocket and pulling out a crystal vail that gleamed in the dim light. "You've found a friend, but didn't you realize that it would only end up in his death, and your capture?"  
  
Yusuke began quaking in fear, his eyes locked on the vail in the mans hand. He switched his gaze to Hiei, his little friend still on the ground and clutching his eye. Black flames were licking at Hiei's body as anger seemed to engulf him. A few of the boxes around him caught fire and the flames quickly spread.  
  
"Leave him alone." Hiei growled, slowly getting to his feet, one hand still clutched to his forehead. But Hiei's balance was off, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet. Blood still dripped steadily from his wound, down his forehead, into his eyes, over his nose and past his chin. The fire around him seemed to darken, an explosion of black flames coming from his small form.  
  
"Hiei!" Yusuke whispered, shocked and frightened.  
  
"You're little fire-works will do nothing to stop me." The man said, walking calmly towards them, the long cloak encasing his body becoming wreathed in flame. But it did nothing to affect him. He kept moving forwards, his hands moving to open the vail in his hands. He began speaking in a tongue that Yusuke didn't understand.  
  
But Hiei seemed to. His posture went rigid, his eyes dropped downward. His whole body seemed to suddenly be made out of stone. The fire that Hiei was engulfed in slowly died down, though the fire still blazing through the back lot did not.  
  
The man chuckled. "That's better," he said in cruel satisfaction.  
  
Yusuke grit his teeth. Hiei seemed to be under some spell, he couldn't just let his friend be stuck like that! He couldn't let the small, almost childlike figure go back to Hell. This was probably going to be the stupidest decision of his life, but Yusuke didn't care. He cared for Hiei, even though they had been strangers just a week ago. With the bones of his knuckles cracking, Yusuke leapt forwards and slammed his fist into Togoru's skull as hard as he possibly could.  
  
The man tipped backwards, right into a burning crate. The crate crashed under his weight, sending a shower of sparks around the lot, setting even more of it on fire. The open vail in Togoru's hands flew forwards, right into Yusuke's open wounds.  
  
And Hiei, it seemed, finally came back to his senses. Because with strength Yusuke never knew the little one had, he gathered Yusuke into his arms and kicked down the fence. Yusuke mumbled something, suddenly delirious with fever. Then, Hiei ran with such speed that he was merely a shadow without a caster, past the railroad tracks and into the woods. Worry filled the small one's being, for his friend was already unconscious in his arms. Sweat dripped down his forehead and mingled with his blood, and Hiei ran all the faster.  
  
He found Yukina and Kurama a mile into the forest, hiding in a cave that was blocked off by plants. Yukina immediately set to work healing Yusuke's and Hiei's wounds, while Hiei himself told the story of what happened.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Reviews are gold. Make me rich!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	6. Part 6: Prophecy

Disclaimer: All disclaimers are in the first chapter where they belong. Song's are disclaimed in the chapter that they appear.  
  
  
  
AN Hey all, they chapter came out surprisingly fast. I thought it was going to take much longer than this. But oh well, more for you I guess. You're especially lucky because the plot-bunnies are waging war with my muses, and gaining more room in which to roam in my head. It's a mess but I'm trying to sort through it all.  
  
(I just got back from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King... my friends were crying - my mom and I were laughing. *sweatdrop* It was good, but not enough to make me cry.)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 6: Prophecy  
  
  
  
It didn't take more than five minutes after Hiei had finished his tale; including the vision he had had on the boat just two days earlier, for the three experiments to discover that something was wrong with their friend. His face was still soaked in sweat; his whole body shuddered as though he were lying on a block of arctic cold ice. His eyes were glassy and vacant, his lips dry. Kurama wasted no time in grabbing Yusuke's bag of clothes and pulling out the thickest, warmest looking garments in there. Yukina hovered over their friend, pressing her glowing hands against his skin to try and heal him. Hiei worked his hardest to transfer his abundance of heat into Yusuke's body.  
  
But for all their efforts, nothing was helping.  
  
"He needs water, first of all." Kurama said finally, after they had all sat back from their futile efforts. "Yukina?"  
  
The girl nodded, taking the bowl-shaped leaf that Kurama handed her. Ice began pouring from her hands until it filled the leaf. Hiei placed his hands on the leaf, sending his fire into the ice so that it would melt into crystal clear water. Kurama took the leaf back and began carefully helping their barely conscience friend to drink.  
  
But even after the water, Yusuke's condition didn't change at all.  
  
"Perhaps he's delirious from blood-loss. Maybe even shock," Kurama said worriedly, peering carefully at Yusuke's flushed but pale face. Sweat continued to drip down the dark haired boy's features as he panted. The shoulder that had been ripped open by what he Hiei told him to be flying glass had been healed thanks to Yukina... but Yusuke was still suffering from its effects.  
  
"You stay with him," he told Hiei, who was once again attempting to feed some of his abundant warmth into Yusuke's still cold body. "I'll try to get some things to help make him more comfortable. Yukina, will you help me?"  
  
The small girl nodded and checked Yusuke's wound one last time. Satisfied that it was fully closed and hadn't scared she followed Kurama out of the dim cave and into the night.  
  
"Hiei..." Yusuke slurred maybe ten minutes after the other two had left. His voice was thick with exhaustion. "S'not blood loss." He closed his weary eyes for a moment, leaving the Jaganshi scared that he was slipping into an endless sleep. "'S'omthing else... drug." Yusuke's voice trailed off and Hiei's eyes widened.  
  
"A drug?" He whispered, "Did he inject you with something? Do you feel like you're floating and burning and freezing all at the same time?"  
  
"Mmm..." Yusuke agreed fuzzily. "S'all cold 'n stuff."  
  
Hiei's eyes widened slightly, before narrowing dangerously. There was really nothing he could do for Yusuke now. It they had known the teen had been injected with a chemical they could have nullified the effect. But because Yukina had healed the wound - Yusuke had no choice but to suffer though its effects. And Hiei hated himself for that; it had been him to originally invite Yusuke to spend time with them. He bitterly remembered his offer. 'Video games and a movie' sure, that went over real well.  
  
"S'not yer fault." Yusuke slurred, obviously having trouble stringing his words together. He slowly, with more that just a wince, reached with one hand to grasp Hiei's. "Ya di'na know."  
  
Hiei sighed, gently holding onto Yusuke hand. "You've been so nice to us," he said softly. "Even though you know how corrupted we are. I'm sorry this happened to you."  
  
Yusuke muttered something indistinguishable, his eyes slipping closed. A few minutes later, he slipped into a light unconscious state while around him his aura brightened until it was visible.  
  
Under his breath he began mumbling his first words in the dialect only those in Hell could understand.  
  
  
  
"With the three that fled,  
  
A forth shall emerge.  
  
His aura bright as the sun.  
  
But with his return,  
  
Darkness shall fall.  
  
The fate of many,  
  
Are held by one."  
  
  
  
Hiei blinked, not understanding the meaning behind Yusuke's words at all. Was it a prophecy? Or just mindless talking? Hiei didn't know, but he filed the words away in his mind just in case.  
  
And so it began. It was a test of mental stability that fed off of emotions. It was supposed to transfer energy created by the body into a weapon, while at the same time expanding the experiments intake of life around him. Hiei had only seen one of those tests before and the girl hadn't lived a week before dying of its effects. She had been slowly going insane because of all the hate pouring into her from all sides and ended up using her weapon to kill herself. He prayed that Yusuke would be stronger than she was.  
  
He was so worried, in fact, that he just began talking mindlessly. The words tumbled out of his mouth, unchecked - words that Yusuke could still hear and were comforted by. His thoughts, ideas, hopes, hates... everything that made him Hiei came tumbling out of his mouth. When Hiei finally ran out of things to say, he used his Jagan to move a book into his hands, and he began struggling to read the book out loud. It was one of Yusuke's detective books, if the picture of a sleuth on the front meant anything. Hiei sighed, looking at his friend before back at the book and began struggling through another page. As he read, though, he began to recognize more words and his voice became surer as the story wore on.  
  
And unbeknownst to him, Yusuke was starting to smile in his unconscious state because of the warmth that was feeding into his soul.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
The first thing Yusuke saw when he regained enough strength to open his eyes, was a pair of garnet-red eyes peering down at him. His nose caught a whiff of what smelled like camp-fires and ashes. He could feel the comforting aura of two people who would do nothing if not protect him, and a third who had been sitting with him for the past twelve hours. But what really made him feel good, was the fact that his entire body felt completely refreshed. No matters were pressing heavily against his mind, no weight bearing down on his shoulders. He felt good, and natural. He could feel the emotions around him, he could see perfectly despite the blatant darkness of the cave. Most importantly, he could feel his own strength and he knew the endless limits of his knowledge - both of which seemed to have broadened while he had been unconscious.  
  
"Hey, Hiei." Yusuke said softly to the red eyes above him.  
  
What he got in return was a disgruntled frown. "Idiot." Hiei sighed, snapping the book in his hands shut and moving to lay one of his warm hands against Yusuke's brow, and then moving his hand down Yusuke's face in a soft, warm caress. "Why did you get in the way like that?"  
  
Yusuke scrunched up his features, one hand reaching up to catch hold of Hiei's. "Get in the way?"  
  
"Yes, Detective. You managed to set Togoru on fire and end his life - but the end results weren't exactly in *your* favor either. The chemical he was holding fell into your open wounds - why do you think you were unconscious for so long?"  
  
Yusuke smiled and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of Hiei's hand soak into his own. "I was listening to you read." He informed the Jaganshi, as an answer to his question. "You've gotten much better."  
  
Kurama suddenly popped up behind them. "Hey, if you're strong enough," he began, watching with amusement as Hiei quickly took his hand back and turned to look in the other direction. "We should really be on the move again. They're bound to figure out what happened sooner or later. They'll send somebody else, somebody much worse. We need to get out of here."  
  
Yusuke nodded and slowly began to push himself upright. To his surprise, after waking, his strength had returned as quickly as his sense of humor. He was upright without wincing or even breaking a sweat. He also wasn't wearing very much in the way of clothing. He lifted an eyebrow at Hiei, who refused to meet his eye.  
  
"You're clothes are next to you." Yukina supplied helpfully from where she was sitting, across the cave. "I had to remove them so that I could heal you more effectively." The girl didn't seem embarrassed at all about Yusuke's current state of dress, that being an undershirt and a pair of boxers.  
  
To be quite honest, Yusuke himself wasn't embarrassed about his state of dress, which he should have been, in the presence of a girl. He simply smiled at her and pulled his green uniform on, staring in wonder because its color seemed more vibrant somehow, and it smelled like clear water springs. Yusuke held the material over his nose and inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent.  
  
"You were right in what chemical was injected." Kurama said lightly to Hiei, laughing slightly at Yusuke's open wonder about his clean clothing. "He does seem much more aware of everything around him. And I hate to say it, but perhaps this was for the best. We all know that Yusuke probably couldn't have stood up against the ones sent after us and if he was cornered alone, he would surely die. This way he has a way to protect himself."  
  
The other two reluctantly nodded in agreement. It *was* better for Yusuke this way, if he could survive long enough for the changes to settle in his system, that is.  
  
Kurama turned and began packing all of their things, including food, which Yusuke lunged at. Yukina swatted at him.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" She scolded, causing him to drop a nutrition bar in surprise. "Your system isn't stable enough to eat yet! Give it a day or so, and we still have a lot of things to explain to you."  
  
Yusuke sighed but didn't argue. And packing was quickly finished. Kurama herded the other three towards the train station, just a few miles away. They bought tickets and boarded in the compartment closest to the caboose.  
  
"So, what kinds of things do you need to tell me?" Yusuke asked casually - though he was feeling anything but casual at the moment - leaning back into the seat of the fast moving train.  
  
His three companions exchanged nervous glances before Kurama spoke up. "Age, for one thing." He said softly. "Because of that chemical - all chemicals used on us really - you will never physically age. And as such you won't die of old age. Your body will be preserved as it is now."  
  
Yusuke blinked at him in surprise, his mouth dropping open. "How old are you all?" He asked dazedly, hardly believing that he would beat the aging process.  
  
Kurama sighed, as though he knew that was coming and really didn't want to answer the question. "I am, roughly, six hundred years old. Time in hell is accelerated greatly. Besides that, some tests take decades to finish or to be recovered from. They had to come up with a way to keep the experiments young; one year out here is roughly twenty years in Hell."  
  
Yusuke blinked again, beginning to feel faint. "And how old are *you*?" He asked Hiei.  
  
"Yukina and I are four hundred and seventy-three years old." Hiei told him stiffly. "It took a very long time to lower and raise our body heat levels and remain stable during the process. Not to mention finish all the other changes made to our bodies."  
  
To say that Yusuke was surprised was an understatement. He stared with open mouthed astonishment. His mind could hardly grasp the idea that the two who looked to be only ten were not only older than him, but so much older that they were already alive by the time that his *great* *great* *great* *grandfather* had been born. Plus the fact that Kurama, who looked his age, was even older than Hiei and Yukina. Needless to say it was hard to believe, but believe he did because for some reason he knew that the three would never lie to him.  
  
"But there's something else." Yukina said, breaking into his wonder with her soft voice. "You can't... have..." She trailed off in embarrassment and quickly excused herself for the bathroom.  
  
Yusuke turned questioning eyes to the usually calm and collected Kurama. His eyes were met with the golden eyes of a five tailed fox, as it pawed uneasily at the ground. It seemed that Kurama wouldn't be telling him this bit of information either. So, Yusuke turned to look at Hiei, who sighed in exasperation.  
  
"You can't have a physical relationship with somebody just for the sake of having a physical relationship." Hiei said stiffly, glaring at the silver fox. "The control you have on your quirks will unhinge and both you and your partner will die because of it. If you do have a relationship, you have to care deeply about your partner - and they you. That's just how it is. During sex your quirks try to merge with your partner, if the two of you truly care about it each other it shouldn't be a problem - but if not, the power will be rejected and slammed back into you and you will both die. That's just how it works; it's been proved many times."  
  
Just as he finished, Yukina stepped back into the compartment, looking much more composed.  
  
Yusuke frowned. "Oh. Well, that's no big deal. I don't go for lust relationships."  
  
The other three sweatdropped.  
  
"I have a question though." Yusuke said, directing his question at Yukina, who would be the most likely to know the answer. "What's with the tattoo on my shoulder?"  
  
He peeled off his shirt to reveal a bright blue swirl on the backside of his right shoulder. The swirl almost seemed to glow, and it contracted and convulsed almost like it was in tune with Yusuke's pulse. As though it were another organ that had always been there and was completely normal.  
  
Yukina moved over and gently touched the mark. "That shows the doctors what test's has been used on you. Most of the experiments have more than one--results of more than one test, you understand. But I've never seen one like yours before."  
  
Yusuke grinned. "So you all have one too?"  
  
They nodded and revealed to him their tattoos. Yukina's were two small identical snowflakes, one blue the other green. Around the flakes was a glow of pure white. Obvious testaments of her skill with ice and healing. Kurama's mark was a white fox that was entangled in a long, thorny vine. But Hiei's was the most extravagant of them all. It was a black flame shaped like a dragon, with bright red eyes. The dragon actually stretched across his small shoulders, its claws seemingly digging into his flesh. The three softly explained the meaning behind each mark, which should have been fairly obvious.  
  
The rest of the trip was spent discussing minor issues. That is, until Yukina and Kurama fell asleep almost two hours later. Hiei was once again reading one of Yusuke's detective novels out loud, which the other listened and stared out the window.  
  
"Hey, Hiei?" Yusuke asked softly, breaking into the story just as the culprit was about to be revealed. "Can I ask you something?"  
  
Hiei looked up, half annoyed that Yusuke choose such a crucial moment in which to interrupt him - and half curious at what was bothering his friend.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
Brown eyes determinedly didn't meet Hiei's curious red orbs. "You said that in a physical relationship without emotions, both involved will die, right?" The newly turned experiment paused hesitantly, "what happens if it's a forced relationship that isn't wanted at all?"  
  
The small child-like figure's eyes widened impossibly wide at the question. He also winced as a memory, or perhaps it was a vision that was thrust upon him. He shut his book, putting it down on the seat.  
  
"I heard once, long ago, that one of the guards became enamored with one of the experiments and forced himself on her. The woman died during the experience because her control unhinged and bled from her body. The blast was said to have destroyed the guard and two of the surrounding buildings." Hiei sighed. "So, I guess if you're raped that you die and take a whole lot with you."  
  
Yusuke didn't look very happy about that, in fact - he was beginning to look downright terrified.  
  
"Hey!" Hiei said in alarm, darting to sit next to Yusuke and take a gentle hold of his hand. "It's forbidden to rape people in Hell, that's the number one rule! And don't worry, because nobody there knows that you've been injected with a chemical, so if they *do* ever catch us they won't take you with us. And even if they know you were injected with that specific chemical..." the dark haired fire wielder winced, cutting himself off.  
  
"What?" Yusuke asked, trying desperately to keep his fear from transforming into tears that would course down his cheeks. "What would happen?"  
  
"They wouldn't care." Hiei said softly. "Because the last person injected with that chemical died because of all the negative input she was picking up..." a new spark seemed to flare in those red eyes. His hands moved to gently cup Yusuke's cheeks, his thumbs following the curve of his cheek bones, "but I won't let that happen!" It was forceful, a promise. "I won't let you die!"  
  
To his surprise, Yusuke actually smiled. "I'm glad you care about me, Hiei. You're one of few."  
  
And he leaned in to touch their lips together.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Review and I'll update.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	7. Part 7: Falling

Disclaimer: Again, it's in the first chapter. Song's are disclaimed in the chapter during which they appear.  
  
  
  
AN Alright, even though it's Christmas, and I was forced to go to church twice this week *ugh!* I still managed to get this chapter up like promised. Stupid holiday schedule is messing up my sleeping patterns. Oh well, it's up. So enjoy.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 7: Falling  
  
  
  
In the brief moment that Yusuke and Hiei's embrace lasted - the former felt a part of his mind ease open. It was as though the physical connection had established a mental one between the two. If Yusuke had to describe it, he would say it resembled a sort of silver thread of emotions. Through that thread, he could feel Hiei's emotions, hear his thoughts and sense his actions. He got a sense of who the dark haired, fire controller was. Almost like the dragon on Hiei's back, he was clinging to his beliefs tooth and nail, not willing to let them go. Yusuke also managed to see a few brightly encased beings inside Hiei's heart. There was Yukina and Kurama, of course. And a woman who resembled Hiei, who could only be his mother. But there was also Yusuke himself, which sent the boy into an orbit of happiness to know just how deeply the smaller cared for him. It was a truly awesome feeling, much better then the stars and fireworks that everybody wanted their first kiss to be.  
  
They pulled apart; Hiei's body temperature was rising with his embarrassment. His little ears brightened to pink, his garnet eyes were almost impossibly wide. And his mouth hung open while one hand moved up to trace his lips in shock. He was the picture of adorable, and Yusuke couldn't help but move in to kiss him once more - just as quickly as the first. His hand went up to tug lightly on one of the tiny pink ears, smiling all the while.  
  
A moment or two later, an amused cough made itself known and the two turned around to look directly into Kurama's laughter filled green eyes. Yukina was, thankfully, still asleep, her head resting in Kurama's lap. If she were awake, she would be - no doubt - giggling with amusement at her brother's embarrassment. As it was, they had to contend with Kurama, who seemed intent on teasing them.  
  
"Did I miss something important?"  
  
Yusuke wasn't sure but he thought he saw Kurama's eyes flash with gold for a moment while he teased Hiei.  
  
"I was establishing a link with him!" Hiei said hotly - tearing himself away from Yusuke's warm and comfortable embrace - though Yusuke noticed that the tips of his ears were still pink. "How else will I be able to find him if we get separated?"  
  
Kurama's grin saw right through Hiei's hasty explanation. And a quiet voice in the back of Yusuke's mind questioned him about his actions. It wasn't his own voice; it came from the silver link with Hiei. The voice sounded unsure, almost frightened because of the simple kiss and the warm affection bestowed upon him.  
  
"I'm going to see how much longer the ride is." Hiei announced, scrambling to his feet and darting out the door. He was gone within the space of two seconds.  
  
Kurama turned his gaze to Yusuke, his smile had faded somewhat. His eyes were no longer the playful and sparkling green and gold - they were more of a subdued, murky green. He looked tired and worried.  
  
"Be careful with him," he said softly, watching Yusuke's expressions carefully. "Hiei has the highest emotional walls I've ever seen, which is saying quite a lot. And you seem to have broken them down without trying." Kurama paused, going into overly-protective-older-brother mode. "I'll feed you to a plant if you dare hurt him!" He threatened.  
  
Yusuke nodded before a curious thread ensnared him. "Just what did you see?" He asked.  
  
Kurama's smile was back in full force, as was the golden gleam in his eyes. "Hm? Oh, nothing really. But the link between Hiei and myself is so strong that any strong surge of emotion he feels, is sent right to me. That's what woke me. I only saw you holding his ear. Being allowed to touch him is quite an accomplishment. Yet, you managed to kiss him... twice."  
  
Okay, so the red head saw everything. He probably wasn't really asleep in the first place, just resting his eyes. That meant he probably heard the whole conversation about rape - and Hiei's promise to protect Yusuke. And yet, the delinquent felt no need to be embarrassed or ashamed of his fears or actions. Instead, he laughed. "You sneaky little fox!" He admonished lightly.  
  
Kurama smirked. "Damn straight."  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
The four experiments settled into another dirty hotel later that night. None of them quite where they were, though Yusuke thought they might be somewhere in southern Japan. The train ride had been fast, but expensive. Yet the trip had been necessary, they needed to get away from where Togoru found them - and died - before somebody was sent to investigate.  
  
In all honesty, the trip wore them out - even Kurama and Yukina who had spent half of the ride sleeping. Yusuke was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, his body being exhausted with the changes still taking place inside him. To tell the truth, all four of them were asleep almost automatically. Hiei seemed to be seeking refuge in Kurama by choosing to press against his human form during sleep.  
  
They all woke with the sun, hungry as anything. Especially Yusuke, who hadn't eaten anything for nearly two days. They all sat in their room munching on breakfast 'health' bars. Not exactly the most delicious meal in the world, but it did give them energy to think and plan.  
  
"We're going to have to earn more money soon," Yukina said, being the voice of logic. "It's unlikely that they can track us to here so quickly. If you two can earn money today we can be on the move again by tonight if needed.  
  
Hiei and Kurama agreed, though Yusuke was a little skeptical. The feelings he was picking up within the city were less the welcome, and he could feel that something dark has hiding - as though waiting for them to appear so that it could snatch them up.  
  
"So it's decided." Kurama said with a smile. "We'll split up and meet in a park somewhere, at noon. Yukina and I will look for a decent club for tonight. Hiei, you and Yusuke try to pick up some more food for us."  
  
It was also a clever ploy to force the latter two to spend time together. After Kurama had discovered Yusuke's intentions in respect to Hiei, he had given his full permission and promised to help get them together at what ever cost. The only warning, of course, was to be careful not to hurt the Jaganshi beyond repair.  
  
Hiei flushed at Kurama's decision, knowing that he couldn't out-argue the fox. So, he hung his head and resigned himself to his fate. Yusuke tried to hide his laughter behind his hand, but his eyes twinkled with good humor. Hiei glowered at him, obviously having felt his humor through their mental link.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
It was the piano, really, that led to them being caught. Yusuke saw it in a music store and couldn't resist the pull of playing it. Neither he, nor Hiei understood why the piano seemed so important - but Yusuke just had to play it.  
  
So he did. Even though he had never played a musical instrument at any time in his life. Even though he didn't know which key was which. Even though he knew they were supposed to keep a low profile. He sat down and began to play the most beautiful and sad song that anybody had ever heard. He didn't care if everybody in the store stopped to stare, or even that Hiei's mouth had fallen open in shock.  
  
And because he didn't care, and that neither of them was on their guard - they were captured.  
  
It had been quick and painless. They left the store and were hit from behind with a blast which left them unconscious. When the two finally woke up, it was in a very plain, very sterile, and very empty room.  
  
In hindsight, it was amazing that they were still together.  
  
Not to mentions still alive.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Hiei's reaction had been immediate. He jumped to his feet and drew out his katana, which for some reason was still with him. With his weapon drawn, he focused his energy into it and lit it on fire before darting towards a random place in the wall and slashing the hell out of it. He then repeated this process with the other three walls before letting the fire die away and dropping down on the ground next to Yusuke.  
  
The little one hunched over, looking weak and terrified. Yusuke scooted over to him and pulled him into a comforting hug.  
  
"This is Hell?" He asked softly.  
  
Hiei nodded shortly and answered his voice low and tight. "I destroyed the cameras, so that will buy us a little time at least. I need to contact Kurama - I don't know if he was caught..."  
  
He didn't return the hug, although that was expected. Hiei wasn't a very affectionate person by nature.  
  
And if Kurama was caught, so was Yukina. Hiei didn't want his sister to suffer in Hell any more. She had been so happy in the real world. Her fascination with even the littlest things. Colors, life, music - all things that Yukina found comfort in, and if she was caught, she wouldn't even have that. Of course, it probably wouldn't be all that hard to contact Kurama. He and Hiei still had their mental link - and it shouldn't matter about the space between them or the changes in time. All Hiei had to do was focus on the thread he and the red haired fox shared.  
  
But, even with the fact that it was easy, theoretically, it still took Hiei nearly twenty minutes before he sat up straight, a few beads of sweat dripping down his face. Before the two could exchange words, a door that hadn't been there before burst open and impossibly white light filled the room. Hiei flinched almost unnoticeably - Yusuke only seeing it because he was still holding the other in a loose grip. And Yusuke began quaking with fear, because the figure in the doorway was throwing out amazing burst of negative emotions.  
  
Hatred, scorn, annoyance, anger, they were all there - but hatred shown through the strongest.  
  
The figure took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the sudden change in lighting, before said eyes - yellow, Yusuke noticed - landed on the two figures in the room. If it could be called a room. And then, he laughed. It was a cruel sound, grating against ears and conscience alike.  
  
"You actually thought you could get away!" The figure, now revealed to be male, laughed cruelly. "You thought you had a chance."  
  
The man stepped further into the room, changing what seemed to be just a silhouette to a hard faced man. He had beady yellow eyes, and pasty white skin. His hair was dark, but dirty and tangled, reaching down to his chin. His nose looked as though it had been broken more than once, and what was visible of his neck was covered in scars. His clothing was what seemed to be a type of uniform. A dark green jump-suit. It was a single piece of clothing, complete with sleeves that cut off just before the wrist, and legs that ended just above the ankle. Over the jump-suit was a very light blue removable sash going from one shoulder to his waist. On the sash were nearly a dozen symbols. One, Yusuke recognized as the tattoo on his back. The others were quite different, being so numerous that some overlapped others. On this guys feet were a pair of shoes that were colored exactly like the green jumper. His hands were covered in latex gloves.  
  
"Come with me, Jaganshi." The man snapped, apparently tiring of his mirth. He stepped even further into the room, pulling two golden bands from a hidden pocket as he did so. Hiei's eyes widened and he started to struggle in Yusuke's grasp. The teen let him go, only for the man to begin using the same technique that Togoru had used. But this time, Yusuke could understand what was being said.  
  
"You wouldn't want to let your precious little sister get hurt again, would you?" The man hissed in that unknown language. "Or the Fox? What about your little friend here. He's much closer, an easy target I'm sure you know. I'm sure I could have lots of interesting fun with a normal human - he's not like you experiments. I'm sure he'll fight back much more..."  
  
Hiei stilled, his eyes narrowed with hatred and terror. The two bands were put around each of his biceps before the green clad guard took a firm hold of him and dragged him from the room. "Good boy. Now, hurry along, the Doctors want a word with you..."  
  
His voice trailed off as he got further away.  
  
And Yusuke was finally able to cease his quaking. Until he realized, he was now alone in that white room. Belatedly he noticed that the four places Hiei had slashed the walls had somehow been replaced, for they were once again flawless. It was like Yusuke was sitting in a white, shadowless box. It was hard to tell where the floor met the ceiling, or in fact how big or small the room was. It was simply a cold, empty, white room without dimensions or blemishes.  
  
It was truly Hell.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
He didn't know how long he had been sitting, completely motionless, when a door opened. It didn't seem like it was in the same place as previously, but Yusuke was past the point of caring.  
  
Into the room stepped a very small figure, clad in another of the green jump-suits. Yusuke noted that the blue sash on this one had only two symbols on it. Again was the symbol on Yusuke's back, but there was another that looked to be a simple camp-fire. This person wasn't a man, but a very short woman. Her eyes were a clear green; her light colored hair was pulled back in a tight bun that was covered by a dark green hood that again, matched the jump-suit. She wasn't scarred, like the man before, though her expression was just as hard. She had on a face that seemed to scream, 'don't ask questions, and don't do something stupid. Don't make me hurt you, because I will - and it *will* hurt.' Yusuke was disinclined to disagree. The woman though, didn't strap anything to Yusuke's arms; she just grabbed him in a tight hold and literally dragged him out of the room into a hallway that was just as white, and just as spotlessly boring. Once in the hallway, she began talking in short orders, like a drill sergeant.  
  
"Change your clothes." She snapped, opening a place in the wall and pulling out, surprise, surprise, a pure white jump-suit. It was, like the green uniforms, a single garment. It was without sleeves and the pants legs only went mid-calf, where they clung most uncomfortably to Yusuke's skin, as they did at his shoulders and waist. He wasn't given any shoes, so Yusuke went barefoot. "You won't argue. Your name is Toushin, learn it, and remember it." She watched as Yusuke slowly changed into the white jump-suit, his eyes lowered. They began moving again.  
  
Down the hallway they went. There were no windows, and no doors. Yusuke was sure that if he looked, he wouldn't even be able to tell where the room he had been in was. The woman stopped walking at what seemed to be a random place in the hallway and tapped on an equally random place on the wall. The empty place transformed into a door and she yanked it open before tossing Yusuke inside.  
  
The teen was impressed at how strong she was.  
  
"Have fun." Were her parting words before the door slammed shut and disappeared.  
  
It took a moment before Yusuke gathered enough courage to chance a glance around the room. He was relieved to find that it wasn't an empty white room like the other. No, this cell had people in it - all dressed in the same white garment as Yusuke.  
  
Then Yusuke blinked. The people in this room... they were all staring at him. But there wasn't a speck of malice in any of their gazes. And not only that - but three of the people were *flying*. A girl was sitting on what looked like an oar, floating about three feet off the ground. And a crimson haired boy who looked about Yusuke's age, but for all he knew was probably two hundred years old, was sort of drifting around near the ceiling. And the last flying person was - a baby? The boy was looking at Yusuke while the teen tried to figure out the logistics of flying people while everybody else was simply sitting around on the floor.  
  
"Hello!" The girl chirped, almost impossibly happy. "My name is Botan, welcome to Chamber 4 of Hell." She directed her oar until she was sitting right in front of Yusuke; the latter noticed that she had a gold band on one of her arms. He wondered what they were for. "What's your name?"  
  
"...Toushin," Yusuke said softly.  
  
Botan smiled, letting the new experiment take in her dazzling white smile, large purple eyes and blue hair. "No silly, your *real* name."  
  
Yusuke sighed in relief. "Oh, my name is Yusuke."  
  
The other people still flying in the room landed and made their way over, while the people sitting down stood up and moved to his side as well. Next came a flurry of names.  
  
The red haired boy was named Jin. The toddler, who could surprisingly talk, was named Koenma. There were two others one was another boy with blue hair - though his bangs were green - and iris-less blue eyes that were rather unnerving to look into. He introduced himself as Touya. The last was a strange blue creature with a horn who called himself George. He seemed to be Koenma's caretaker.  
  
They all clamored, well Jin and Botan clamored, to hear his story. Yusuke's head spun with the emotional mess he was picking up, and quickly became dizzy. Koenma ordered that they give him space and that everybody calm down. The toddler, much to Yusuke's surprise suddenly became a teenager and helped Yusuke clear his mind. He informed the others that the newcomer had indeed been injected with a drug. The group calmed significantly, but they still wanted to know about Hiei, Kurama and Yukina. They wanted to know about the outside world. They wanted to know how Yusuke managed to beat Togoru. And Yusuke told them as best he could, while throwing out questions about their life. What was Hell like? How often did they test on the experiments? Why did Hell exist in the first place?  
  
Although in the end, Yusuke wasn't sure he was happy with the answers.  
  
It seemed that Hell was a research facility that had gone out of control. It had originally been a place created when national borders had been eliminated and the Unified World came into existence. Hell was a place completely against the Unified World, and its purpose was to create an army to break the world back into smaller parts. But somewhere along the line, when it became clear that the Unified World would stand firm though thick and thin, the facility had gone corrupt. People who had volunteered themselves were no longer just volunteers. They were specimens, low life creatures. They were tested on, and controlled through fear. The few children born in Hell were used as experiments as well. Hell was turned from research to torture, without anyone being the wiser about it.  
  
And they also told Yusuke about their 'quirks'. Jin, it seemed had somehow been given control over wind and air. He basically just used that gift to fly, and for some reason to create noise. The red haired boy also had a horn on the top of his head, which he told Yusuke, grew in after a test to make him stronger. Botan told him that her quirks, besides flying on an oar that she could will in and out of existence, she was knowledgeable of every single language there was. In addition to that, she could also fade her body in and out of view until she was little more than an outline of herself. And she had basic healing powers. The blue haired Touya told him in few words that he had power over ice, though it was nothing like Yukina. He could change water molecules in the air into ice and change temperatures of anything around him. He also was able to move at amazing speeds. George it seemed had a very quick mind. He was able to learn quickly and as such was the only of the experiments that could read and write. His blue skin was the result of an experiment to toughen his skin into a type of armor. And Koenma, in addition to being able to switch his physically form from toddler to teenager, had a sort of power reader. He could, in a way, 'read' how strong somebody's added power was. And he could tell somebody the best way to turn that power into an attack strategy.  
  
The teen wasted no time telling Yusuke that if he could harness the energy in his aura and gather it around his fist he could have a sort of enhanced power punch. Yusuke wasted no time in scoffing. But the experiments didn't take offence; instead they took his questions and reactions and distracted him with their own questions and reactions.  
  
Yusuke didn't realize it, but he spent four days talking to the group of strangers until there were no secrets left between them. He wondered how these people remained so open, even after being tortured and tested on. He wondered if it was all just an act, or some sort of drug was given to them to force them to act a certain way. Yusuke wouldn't have been surprised.  
  
What did surprise him, however, was the return of Hiei. The little Jaganshi was dumped unceremoniously into the chamber nearly four days after Yusuke arrived. The fire controller was still wearing the gold cuffs on his arms, in addition to a white uniform that looked too big for him. The bandanna over his third eye was still in place, though it looked incredibly dirty and sweat soaked. Hiei also looked thinner then Yusuke remembered. Thin and exhausted. It looked as though he wasn't sleeping again.  
  
The delinquent rushed to his side, gathering up his little friend and holding him in what he hoped to be a comforting embrace. It apparently was because the body in his arms automatically relaxed into sleep.  
  
"It looks as though he went through Training." Botan said softly, peering over his shoulder.  
  
"Training?" Yusuke asked, "What's that?"  
  
"Training is a very demanding physical experience designed to break down a person until their morals seem pointless. It's torture, really. It's only used on people who can't be forced to talk by use of bribery and drugs. After they put in the Jagan, Hiei is mostly immune to the drugs here. Training must have been the only way to go." Botan said, summoning her oar and settling herself down on it.  
  
"Indeed." Koenma said, now in the guise of his toddler form. "Some experiments spend weeks in Training. So long that they collapse from lack of food, and sleep."  
  
"Torture?" Yusuke repeated softly, looking down at the thin face pressed against his chest.  
  
"They cut off access to our quirks as well." Jin told him, watching the goings-on from an upside down position in the air. "That's what the gold cuffs are for, a complete cut off. The white uniforms we wear do that too, at a lighter scale, anyway. That's why they're so tight in the leg and shoulder and waist."  
  
Well, that explained that anyway. It didn't explain what Training was. Besides torture.  
  
Touya ended up being the one to describe Training. "It's basically a very difficult obstacle course." The experiment said softly. "But in addition to nearly impossible tasks, you're being chased by the most fit and brutal guards. If they catch you they beat you to their liking. The longer you avoid them, the more tired they get, so they won't beat you as much... but our bodies can't hold up forever. Hiei probably exhausted himself completely."  
  
Hiei twitched slightly, as though he was waking up. The little one moaned softly, before speaking words that were almost hauntingly familiar to Yusuke.  
  
  
  
"With the three that fled,  
  
A forth shall emerge.  
  
His aura bright as the sun.  
  
But with his return,  
  
Darkness shall fall.  
  
The fate of many,  
  
Are held by one."  
  
  
  
Botan blinked and fell off her oar. "Was that a prophecy?" She asked.  
  
Yusuke blinked at her before looking back down at Hiei. His red eyes were now open and staring at the one holding him.  
  
"You're the forth." Hiei whispered. "You've come to save us... I'm sorry."  
  
Koenma blinked. "That's the first time I've ever heard Hiei speak kindly to anyone. Training must have really messed with his head for that to happen."  
  
Yusuke blinked uncertainly. He wasn't sure whether to be confused, angry or a mixture of both.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Kurama gasped, bringing his and Yukina's progress to a stand still. Hiei must have been going through Training. The link between them was still as strong as ever, but for the first time - Kurama was wishing that it wasn't. He had been having trouble breathing for the last few days, trouble seeing, changing his personalities, and most importantly, trouble taking care of Yukina.  
  
"We have to help them." Yukina had said desperately. "I thought I'd lost Hiei once - I don't want to think that again."  
  
Tears had been coursing down her cheeks, transforming into icy gems within seconds.  
  
"We'll get them." Kurama had promised, "Don't worry. I'll tell you the moment something with Hiei changes."  
  
Technically nothing had changed except Hiei was physically exhausted. And Kurama didn't want to worry the little Ice Maiden, so he didn't. And they began leaving clues of themselves. They needed to find a guard and try to overcome him. Then they could find their way back to Hell.  
  
It was the only way they could think of to help. And it was, quite unfortunately, the most dangerous way as well.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Remember to review!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	8. Part 8: Lost

Disclaimer: is in the first chapter. Songs are disclaimed in the chapter that they appear.  
  
  
  
AN I'm not sure if anybody is going to like this, because something truly horrible happens to Yusuke at the end of this chapter. Eh-heh... please don't hurt me for leaving it at a cliff-hanger again. It just seemed like the perfect spot to end it off until next week. ^__^ I promise, it's good. I've already started it.  
  
Just two chapters left to go after this one. And than it's all over. Erm... this one's for Kuroi.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 8: Lost  
  
  
  
Something woke Yusuke, though he wasn't sure right away what it was. All those in Chamber 4 of Hell were still sleeping, including Hiei, who was in Yusuke's arms. As comfortable was the dark haired teen wasn't, lying on a cold floor in a bright white room, there was something about holding Hiei that made comfort unimportant. It brought out a protective feeling and put everything else aside.  
  
So, it could only have been an outside feeling which woke him.  
  
Sure enough, thirty seconds later a door appeared in the wall and two guards stepped into the chamber. One was holding the gold restraining cuffs; the other was holding an injection needle. They looked around, not all that surprised that all the experiments in the room were sleeping. They spotted Yusuke and Hiei, snickering to themselves about how the two chose to sleep before starting over. At the same time, they grabbed Yusuke's arms, slapped the cuffs in place and injected him with whatever had been in the needle. What ever reaction Yusuke might have had was quickly nullified.  
  
The teen stared around dazedly before the world went black.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Yusuke came back to consciousness slowly, his entire body felt like lead. He deduced that it had to be because of the drug injected into his body by the guards before. His eyes were heavy, he couldn't open them. His body was strapped down to a cold table. If he had to guess, he would say that the table was white, like everything else.  
  
"He seems to be in excellent physical condition," a deep, scratchy voice said stiffly.  
  
Yusuke started, suddenly afraid. Voices talking about things like that could only mean one thing - Doctors. And they weren't happy doctors either, these people were emitting the strongest feelings of hate and anger Yusuke had ever felt. He would have curled in on himself if he was able.  
  
"He could be a run away from here that we don't know about, but I've never seem him before in my life. And I've been around for a long time." Another voice said, just as stiffly, though it wasn't nearly as deep.  
  
"He was brought in with Jaganshi; he must have chosen him for a reason." A third voice put in.  
  
"Let's just put him in the Machine and let it tell us his wave lengths and if he's good enough to test on." The second voice muttered. "If he's not, I'm sure the guards will enjoy having a plaything."  
  
Alright, that definitely didn't sound good. If he could have, Yusuke would have run. But as it was, a pair of strong hands unbuckled him from the table and lifted him into the air, before tossing him on a different but equally cold, and most likely white table. About that time, the teen managed to open his eyes. Not that *that* did him any good either, because all he saw were fuzzy things which could be people, but they could also be coat racks holding white coats. He did see a big black thing, which could have been a door. But even that didn't help because he was once again buckled down and the whole table started moving.  
  
The teen could do nothing but watch fuzzily as the ceiling moved and he was pulled into an enclosed space that, thankfully, wasn't white. Instead, it was a pasty type of green. He wasn't given much chance to admire the new color because the whole machine suddenly went dark. Then it lit back up and started shaking violently. Yusuke would probably have been tossed around like he was trapped in an earthquake, but as it was; he was strapped down to the table so his head lobbed back and forth instead.  
  
Needless to say that Yusuke was just a little more than scared.  
  
The strange thing though, was that even though the Machine was shaking like a volcano just before it erupts, there was no noise. Silent as a graveyard, but as violent as the ocean. Yusuke eventually became used to the shaking, enough that he could keep his head still and watch the green lights above him. They were flashing in the most peculiar fashion. First the light closest to Yusuke's left foot would flash, than the one near his right foot, as though answering. A light by his ear would flare seconds later, before moving down to his chest. Not only that, but the lights seemed to be getting closer as the pattern went on.  
  
Finally, the lights were dancing over Yusuke's skin, and he felt a pricking sensation every time one of the lights went flashed on and then back off. And then, it was over. The shaking stopped, the lights went out, and the table he was lying on slid back out of the machine. Funny thing was... he was no longer buckled down to the table.  
  
"Bring him back to Chamber 4." One of the white clad coat racks barked.  
  
A face appeared in Yusuke's vision, thankfully clear - before everything went dark.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Yukina gasped and stumbled. She lay on the ground, panting and gasping quietly, trying to regain her breath. She and Kurama had been running for what seemed like hours on end. It probably *was* hours on end. They had quickly given up trying to get themselves caught and then over powering the guard. Instead, Kurama decided that they should try to retrace their route to Hell.  
  
Yukina would have frozen the entire world over if it meant finding her brother and her new friend.  
  
"Come on, Yukina. We must keep going. My connection with Hiei is beginning to fade. We have to get to Hell before it disappears completely."  
  
Yukina stared up at the fox, her red eyes wide with fear. She said nothing but accepted his hand to pull herself back to her feet. They began running again, Kurama leading the way at a pace Yukina could match. Kurama paused after about a mile, his nose in the air.  
  
"This way!"  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Jin was currently having the time of his life. This was in fact, a truly sad thing. He was poking his new friend Yusuke in the shoulder with Botan's oar, seeing how long it would take before one of two things happened. One, Yusuke woke up and beat the living crap out of him. Or, two, Hiei got annoyed and set him on fire.  
  
"Stop it Jin," Botan finally snapped, taking back her oar and making it disappear. "He's not going to wake up for quite a long while."  
  
Jin sighed; option number three was never very much fun. On the other hand, at least he didn't have to worry about being turned into a living torch.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
For the second time, Yusuke opened his eyes to see the garnet red of Hiei's staring back at him. But this time they weren't in a dark cave, they were in a white box. The relief that shone in the Jaganshi's eyes, however, was the same. Neither spoke, words weren't needed. But after a moment, soft tendrils of silver thoughts began wrapping themselves around Yusuke's mind, accompanied with Hiei's presence.  
  
[They think that you are still human.] Hiei told him through the silver threads. Behind the white strip of cloth, his Jagan glowed with warm purple light. [They do not know of your changes.]  
  
[I'm not human?] Yusuke thought back, his eyes widening slightly at the new revelation.  
  
Hiei's eyes were lit with humor. [No, you are not human any more. Could a human live without aging, as we do? Could a human be as wise and powerful as we are? No, I am Jaganshi. You are Toushin. Yukina is Koorime, Kurama is Youko. We are all different, but none of us are human.]  
  
Strangely enough, Yusuke didn't reject the thought. It seemed like something that was just natural, a fact of life.  
  
[I have an idea how to get out of here.] Hiei told him softly. The soothing feeling around Yusuke's mind lessened for a moment before an image of a dark hallway surfaced in his mind. [This is where Toushin died; she killed nearly twenty guards with one blast. She also blasted a hole to the surface. It cannot be rebuilt because her spirit still lingers there. I think that she will let us pass.]  
  
The dark haired boy on the ground allowed his eyes to widen. The girl who had been raped, the one who died and destroyed a section of Hell - had been named Toushin? But that was the name that they gave him, why would they do that? Did it mean something? Yusuke gave a shiver of fear, which was echoed by Hiei. Emotions began pouring into the soul of the newly turned experiment. Fear, hurt, uncertainty, desperation, anxiety, panic and an entanglement of other feelings that had no name or way to describe them.   
  
"Relax," Hiei whispered aloud, letting the soft silver tendrils of his mind leave his friends. "No harm will come to you. I promise I won't let them hurt you."  
  
He instructed Yusuke to take deep breaths and hold them in before exhaling. The teen smiled up at the smaller above him before shifting to look around the room.  
  
Everybody - Botan, Koenma, George, Touya and Jin - were all starring at the two of them with the strangest expression on their faces. At second look, they were all staring at Yusuke with the strangest looks on their faces.  
  
"Um..." George finally said, scratching nervously at his blue skin. "Are you aware that you're glowing?"  
  
Yusuke sat up, staring at himself in awe and shock. He was glowing with a very bright blue light. The light seemed to mist off of his very skin, out of his very being. So, he did what was perfectly normal when one finds out he is glowing.  
  
He fainted.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
About half an hour later, Yusuke once again woke, but this time he was propped up against a wall. He had a great view of Hiei, on fire, chasing the others around the room and cackling manically. There was no real fear in any of the experiments as they ran about. It was more like a childishly playful emotion. Except Hiei, who was indeed, trying to set the others on fire. But suddenly, everybody in the room froze and turned to stare as a door appeared.  
  
There was something different about the guard that walked into their holding chamber. Something... dangerous.  
  
Without any words spoken, in a normal tongue or the language of Hell, the guard strode over to Yusuke, grabbed him by the neck of his white clothing and began dragging him to the door. Yusuke gave a terrified shout, struggling to be free. He could tangibly feel the anger, lust, hatred and other labyrinth of ill-being coming from this man. It wasn't just in his mind; it was surrounding him in a dark cloud that Yusuke alone could see. The others were quick to react. Hiei summoned his dark flames, but they did nothing against the suits of the guards were apparently fire proof. Touya attempted to freeze the air the guard was breathing, but that didn't seem to work either. Botan smacking him upside the head with her oar, Jin attempted to lift him with his winds - but for some reason, none of their attempts were affecting the guard.  
  
And he and Yusuke disappeared out the door.  
  
There was no time to react to that, because three seconds later, a group of guards rushed into the chamber, locked the golden cuffs on all of the experiments arms, and dragged them out as well. Hiei attempted to shout for Yusuke, but a rough hand clamped over his mouth. He attempted to use his Jagan, but the cuffs on his arms must have been strengthened because he couldn't even *open* his third eye, let alone use it. But he still struggled.  
  
Hiei was strong, even without the ability to tap into his fires or his speed. He had spent days on end in Training, or the Fighting Pits, his muscles were no lie. He could take down experiments four times his size without even breaking a sweat. And that was no small feat, because Hiei was so small. Most of the experiments were terrified of him, and half of the guards wouldn't come near him unless he had been forcibly knocked unconscious. But for all of Hiei's struggling, he couldn't break free, and he couldn't rush to Yusuke's side.  
  
The Jaganshi let out a growl of pure anger and, restraining cuffs or not, his body temperature began to heat and small flames began licking against his body.  
  
Meanwhile, Yusuke was struggling just has vehemently. He was being dragged down to one of the darkest corridors. The corridors and hallways that weren't pure white, but dark gray with singe marks and the smell of ash lingered in the air. The teen understood the intent of the guards; it wasn't hard to figure it out. A door appeared, half burned off of its old hinges, and the guard holding Yusuke - and the near dozen that followed, tossed him inside and were quick to follow. Yusuke flinched as he hit the arctic cold floor, and he immediately curled up on himself, trying his best not to whimper or cry.  
  
He was in a storage room, full of vials of chemicals and drugs. All the vials were dusty - the place probably had been forgotten about or though to be destroyed.  
  
"Doctor says we can do what we want." The first guard said, his beady yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness.  
  
"Let's get him ready for a taste of true pain."  
  
The whole group of guards lunged for the teen. Some beating him with fists, others kicking him harshly. His clothing was quickly ripped off, leaving Yusuke panting and quivering in fear. He was pushed onto his stomach, still being physically beaten and abused before it all stopped and something was pressed against his backside.  
  
/"So, I guess if you're raped that you die and take a whole lot with you."/  
  
Yusuke involuntarily let out a sob as Hiei's words filled his mind. He didn't want to die. That something against Yusuke's bask side began to rip and tear into his flesh and the teen let out another sob, panic erupting along with terror. Seconds later, a blast of energy - the same blue that he had been glowing with earlier - exploded from his body.  
  
And everything went white.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN I want to thank everybody who has been reading this and especially those people who review it. I'm sorry for not thanking you each by name, but it's a quarter to midnight and my sleeping patterns are a bit off.  
  
  
  
So, thanks again and remember to review... please.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	9. Part 9: Emptiness

Disclaimer: is in the first chapter. Songs are disclaimed in the chapter that they appear.  
  
  
  
AN Wow, this one came out a lot earlier than I though that it would. ^__^ Good for you all, right? You're all happy? Well, you shouldn't be. This chapter is supposed to be all sad and stuff. I don't think I actually made it as sad as it was supposed to be... but it's good all the same. Now, I have one more thing to say...  
  
  
  
Anybody remember my old fic, "Tossed and Found"? Well, Killua-san is writing the sequel: "Tossed and Found: The Continued Cycle" Go read it, I think it's damn funny! It's also in my bio, read it and leave her a review, ne?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Part 9: Emptiness  
  
  
  
Even before he woke, Yusuke scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and wild. He stared around himself blankly. There was nothing. Almost nothing remained of the room he had been in, or the guards who had been with him. The cuts on his chest and arms, the only real evidence of his being beaten, were still open and bleeding - a few broken glass vails were on the floor next to him, allowing their contense to drip into his wounds.  
  
But that wasn't what was troubling him. It was the fact that everything was obliterated - except him. In his panicked state, he found the sense of mind to check himself over. The wounds he sported were obvious, and his clothes were lying a few feet away. He quickly picked them up, dressing as quickly as he could. But there was something else. Something else that should have been there - just wasn't. Which was another things that made him nervous.  
  
What was missing? Why couldn't he figure it out?  
  
"Yusuke!" A voice cried out through the silence. "Yusuke! Are you alright?"  
  
He turned, automatically recognizing the voice. It was Hiei, sporting the same number of cuts and scratches as himself, though he was still wearing his clothing. Or, some of it, at least. His white jump suit was heavily burned, so much that the upper half was completely gone and his pants were singed badly. There were also burn marks on his arms, where the golden cuffs would go, but no cuffs were there now. The small bloody figure flung himself at the taller, letting words of relief spill from his mouth.  
  
"You're alright! I didn't want to hope. I heard what they were going to do to you... Jin told me, he said he saw you being dragged over here..."  
  
Yusuke stared down at the firm body attached to his waist. And with a jolt, he realized what he was missing. The link he had established with Hiei. It was gone, completely. And he solely missed the warm connection he had had with Hiei, it was as though he were missing something vital.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
For the whole of the time that Hiei remained latched around his waist, Yusuke's body was frozen. He didn't move, he could barely breath. Shock was swiftly leaving him, leaving behind a cold, hard reality laced with fear.  
  
"Where are the doctors?" The teen asked softly. "Where are the guards and the experiments and the doctors and everything else?"  
  
"They're gone." A soft voice said from behind them.  
  
Hiei turned, surprised. But the surprise swiftly faded into joy. Yusuke, however, didn't recognize the figure behind them. He was tall, very tall - nearly seven feet tall if not more so. He had long silver hair and piercing golden eyes. The figure wore something akin to the white coveralls uniforms. But it was much more gauzy and beautiful. For a moment, Yusuke was transfixed, but then the identity of this person clicked together like a puzzle. Two soft fox ears twitched on the top of his head and a silver tail waved gracefully behind him.  
  
"Kurama?" Yusuke asked, completely amazed. So amazed, in fact, that he forgot about the doctors and Hell and everything else.  
  
"Youko." Kurama corrected him mildly. "This is the final of my four personalities, though this one is only accessible through great bouts of emotions. It's my way of dealing with something I can't handle." The Youko smiled, a gleam of green entering his eyes. "I'm glad that you're alright."  
  
With a swirl of wind, the silver man disappeared and the red headed Kurama stood before them. A tiny figure stepped out from behind the red head, finally visible.  
  
"Hiei-san! Yusuke-kun!"  
  
"Imouto-san!"  
  
It was very lucky that Yukina was still wearing her near bag-like clothing, because their embrace was anything but short. The thick fabric and the long sleeves prevented the two from being affected by the temperature changes. Yukina's tears clattered on the ground as she cried out her relief.  
  
Yusuke stood still, watching his friends with blank eyes. His fear and questions had returned. The first of which being, what happened?  
  
"Yusuke?" Kurama asked, taking a step forward and placing his hand on his friends shoulder. "Are you alright?"  
  
The dark haired boy shook his head. "What happened?" He asked, trying to keep his voice at a level volume. "How did you get here? What happened to me? Where is everybody? Why don't I understand anything anymore?" He fell to his knees, throwing a punch at the ground.  
  
A small crater was formed from the impact, which only served to scare the boy more.  
  
"They're gone." Kurama said soothingly, kneeling down and tilting Yusuke's face so that he could look into the others' eyes. "Their black souls were destroyed in the blast and their bodies vanished as well. Everybody here who cared for others or had pure souls is probably wondering exactly what you are. They're probably just as scared."  
  
"So... they're dead?" Yusuke whispered. "I killed them all?" Tears began streaming down his cheeks.  
  
"NO!" The red head said forcefully. "You killed nobody! But we have to act *now*. That blast obliterated all of Hell, but the United Council will have heard by now, news travels fast if it's important enough. We have to get everybody out of here."  
  
"We can save them, Yusuke." Yukina whispered. "But we'll need your help."  
  
It took a moment, but Yusuke managed to swallow his emotions and lock them inside. That action would prove to be his downfall, but at the moment getting everybody safe was most important. They decided to work in groups of twos. Yukina and Hiei went to the Doctors chambers and the rehabitation rooms. Kurama and Yusuke hurried to the experiments chambers. Along the way they found Jin, Touya, Botan, Koenma and George. All of them agreed to help get everybody still alive out of Hell. But everybody wasn't very many people. Besides the nine who were already accounted for - only a small number of others survived. Eight, to be exact. Six were experiments, one was a guard, and one was a small blue penguin type thing. Respectively: Sazuka, Rinku, Chu, Yomi, Mukuru, Raizen; Genkai; and Puu.  
  
The guard, Genkai, told them that she knew somewhere they could go for safety. They all readily trusted her because she might be a strict guard, but the blue sash on her uniform was clear of any symbols. The symbols representing experiments who died under the charge of a guard. But she had also been experimented on, just once. She could regenerate her youth and she had a perfect memory. Genkai was a trainer as well. After an experiment was stable enough, she taught them the best way to harness what ever had been altered in them. Yukina learned how to control her ice, Rinku learned how to manipulate his energy into toys. Other's benefitted from her teachings, though they didn't know it. The older woman told the group that there was a temple not too far away. They could figure things out there and figure out what to do after that.  
  
It was going to be a long night of walking.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Yusuke stood in the middle of a green lawn. His duffle bag was sitting near his feet, stuffed with his clothing and his books. It was pitch black out, no light sent down to Earth from the stars or even the moon. Tears were rushing from his eyes, landing silently on the soft dirt.  
  
"I killed them all," He said softly into the empty air. He knew it was the truth, regardless of what anybody else told him. "It was all my fault. If I had more control, if I knew what was going to happen... I could have fought them off, I'm not a wimp! What's wrong with me? Why couldn't I save them?"  
  
His rant did not fall on deaf ears. Hiei stood nearby, once again clad only in black. He was unseen, Yusuke being too occupied with blaming himself with everything. The little fire controller looked very obviously upset, letting his emotions shine in his eyes and reflect on his face. Out of everybody, his friend was the only one that nobody could break through to. Nobody could reassure him that he was okay, he didn't do anything wrong.  
  
"It wasn't your fault." Hiei finally said softly, taking a few steps closer.  
  
Yusuke spun around, anger blasting out of his eyes. "Do you know what I did to them? I *killed* them! All of them!"  
  
"Do you think that perhaps they deserved to die?" Hiei countered. "After everything that they did to us, perhaps it wasn't you but their own black souls which led them to their damnation."  
  
But Yusuke wouldn't hear any of it. "I'm going back home." He stated. "Don't follow me, I don't want to remember any of this. Any of what happened."  
  
"You... you don't want to remember... me?" Hiei whispered, one tear escaping his eye and dropping like a gem into the grass. It went completely unnoticed.  
  
Yusuke didn't seem to hear him but that didn't stop Hiei from trying to stop him. In nano-seconds the Jaganshi had his friend in a tight grip. He slipped a necklace with a bright gem on it around the Toushin's neck. It pained him to do so, it was as though he were saying good bye to the one person who had truly cared for him without needing to. Before Yusuke could move, Hiei pressed their mouths together, quickly, desperately.  
  
"Don't forget me." He pleaded.  
  
And he let the other go. And the other didn't look back.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
School was torture, that much was easy to understand.  
  
After returning to his home, Yusuke was struck with how different it all seemed. His whole life had changed so much in less than two weeks. It felt like so much longer, *years* longer. The few days he had spent traveling with Hiei, Kurama and Yukina - and then having spent a little over a week in Hell. And Yusuke hadn't noticed anything about himself change, so he could only assume that it was everybody else who had changed in his absence.  
  
But it was at school, especially, where his changes were most noticed. He was quiet, abnormally quiet. He actually worked during class, did all his homework and turned it in on time - and his scores shot through the roof. Nobody knew what to think - the Great Urameshi, actually doing school work without complaining. Rumors started circulating.  
  
The biggest rumors came because of three things. The first rumor started said that Yusuke had found a serious girlfriend and he was working hard to please her - this was based on the beautiful necklace that he wore constantly around his neck. The second rumor circled the idea that Yusuke was had found out he had an identical twin and had sent him in his place - because of the numerous and strange array of tattoo's on the teens back. And the third was that he was studying to be a scientist so that he could play around with genetics... because of Puu. The small blue penguin-like thing that had followed Yusuke as stubbornly as Mary's little lamb.  
  
But no matter who asked, be it his old girlfriend Keiko, or his best friend, Kuwabara... the teen in question said nothing. He just work silently and diligently.  
  
But Yusuke couldn't fail to notice, no matter how hard he tried, the presence of three people who had explained his new life to. They respectfully stayed away from him. Until Kurama, under the name of Shuuichi Minamino, appeared at the school and began taking classes. Kurama did nothing to bother Yusuke, he didn't even talk to him in the halls.  
  
For nearly a month, the two attended the same school without speaking a word to each other. It was only when Yusuke, leaving the school late one afternoon, saw Kurama talking and laughing with Hiei and Yukina just outside the main gates, that he felt a stab of hurt.  
  
The trio left without even a glance towards him.  
  
And Yusuke was left completely alone.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Just one more chapter to go. It might be up by this weekend... next week by that very latest.   
  
  
  
I'm aiming for a hundred reviews, care to comply?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
. 


	10. Part 10: Beginnings

Disclaimer: is in the first chapter and will remain as such. The song used in this chapter is "The First Cut Is the Deepest" sung by Sherrel Crow.  
  
  
  
AN Hey all, I'm sitting here working and slaving away at my crappy old computer... just to finish this fic for you by the weekend. And I'm proud to say that I've quite accomplished that goal. Be proud of me. Now that the story is over of course, I'll have to think of something new. By George... is that a plot-bunny on the horizon? Why... I think it is... *runs away*  
  
  
  
Read the notes at the bottom, ne? You might learn something important.  
  
  
  
## IF ANY OF YOU REMEMBER MY OLD FIC: TOSSED AND FOUND... THERE'S A SEQUAL. "Tossed and Found: The Cycle Continued" By Killua-san. ##  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
===============================  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part 10: Beginnings  
  
  
  
It had begun to rain. Cold sheets of gray rain falling from an equally gray and cold sky and landing on the cold, gray Earth below. Schools were closed because of possible flooding; large businesses were closed for the same reason. Everybody was advised to stay indoors. A nasty virus was sweeping Tokyo, its victims falling within days of catching it.  
  
But Yusuke's house was empty. His mother was out drinking and partying. And Yusuke himself was sitting in the darkest booth he could find at the Black Thorn. Though the dirty club brought back memories he would rather forget, he had found he couldn't stay away. The music continued to blast, regardless if Yusuke listened to it or not. The people continued to dance, regardless if he joined them or not. He was content simply to exist and be ignored. Besides, he had received a very formal incitation, complete with a ticket, requesting his presence at the club. He had immediately recognized the handwriting as Hiei's - though it was much smaller and neater than he remembered.  
  
The note had simply said: "Yusuke... please spend your evening at the Black Thorn tonight. I hope that your inner demons have quieted and that your soul can be at peace."  
  
And there had been another thing written, but it had been crossed out. Yusuke couldn't even read half of it, because it was so covered in ink markings.  
  
"Ai s-"  
  
That's all he could read.  
  
So there he was, sitting alone in his booth. Ignoring the rest of the people in the club, not listening to the music but being satisfied that nothing had really changed at all. The music suddenly cut out, the teen looking up in surprise. The manager stepped out onto the stage, he was grinning as though he had just won a million Credits. He probably had.  
  
"The Black Thorn is proud to present, for a *second* time, Hiei and Kurama. Or, as they are now called: Strangers!"  
  
The crowd immediately began cheering and rushing to move closer to the stage. The manager quickly stepped off, fearful of the many frantic fan-girls. Everybody but Yusuke was excited. The delinquent himself slumped back down in his seat. He should have seen it coming.  
  
The lights dimmed and music began pounding through the sound system once again.  
  
  
  
I would have given you all of my heart,  
  
But there's someone who's torn it apart.  
  
And he's taken just all that I have,  
  
But if you want I'll try to love again.  
  
Baby I'll try to love again but I know.  
  
  
  
To the surprise and delight of the crowd, Hiei alone stepped onto the stage. Beyond belief, the small singer jumped off the stage and began walking through the crowd. The sea of fans and admirers parted for him as he walked though them. Seemingly looking for somebody. What everybody else didn't know what that he knew exactly where his target was. And so did his target.  
  
  
  
The first cut is the deepest,  
  
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest.  
  
But when it comes to being lucky he's cursed,  
  
When it comes to loving me he's worse.  
  
  
  
Kurama stepped onto the stage as well, singing with the same lonely sounding voice as Hiei. His green eyes were locked on his small partner. And Hiei still wandered through the crowd.  
  
  
  
I still want you by my side.  
  
Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried.  
  
And I'm sure going to give you a try,  
  
And if you want I'll try to love again.  
  
Baby I'll try to love again but I know...  
  
  
  
Kurama jumped from the stage as well, taking a different path than that of the smaller. The crowd parted for him as well, as though he were a god among men. Because with his almost ethereal looks, in the eyes of his fans... he was.  
  
  
  
The first cut is the deepest.  
  
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest  
  
But when it comes to being lucky he's cursed.  
  
When it comes to loving me he's worse.  
  
  
  
Yusuke didn't want to believe it when the two suddenly made a bee-line for his booth. Just as suddenly, Yukina appeared, her red eyes wide and looking as though she were only one step away from crying. Yusuke remained seated, not wanting to see his friend cry any more than she already had. And even though every instinct told him to run, flee, get out of there - because he didn't want to be confronted with Hiei again... didn't want to remember the emotions he couldn't even begin to forget... he stayed.  
  
  
  
I still want you by my side.  
  
Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried.  
  
But I'm sure going to give you a try.  
  
Cause if you want I'll try to love again.  
  
Baby you know I'll try to love again but I know...  
  
  
  
  
  
There was a brief pause before both Kurama and Hiei sent him directly meaningful looks. Looks that begged him to stay behind as he had once before. Yusuke closed his eyes against that look, and when he reopened them, the two singers were making their way back to the stage, finishing their song. And Yukina had already vanished back into the crowd.  
  
  
  
The first cut is the deepest.  
  
Baby I know the first cut is the deepest.  
  
When it comes to being lucky he's cursed,  
  
When it comes to loving me he's worse...  
  
The first cut is the deepest..."  
  
  
  
The song faded out perfectly as they reached the stage. And then the music began a new with a different song with a completely different message. The second song was about looking past the surface and seeing the pain hidden on the inside. It was about pain and lies and needing somebody there to help sooth the hurt only visible behind their eyes. Then they sang a third song. The third song was of the future. A song purely sung to send out the idea that there is always something out there to look forward to, even if it is frightening. And songs about everlasting presence in the heart. Songs that told Yusuke that Hiei and Kurama would always be there for him, should he need it. Songs that said, there were already there.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
To tell the truth, Yusuke fled the club as soon as he was able. He didn't wait behind to talk to Hiei and Kurama, as he once had. He couldn't talk to those who knew just how horrible a person he really was. He had killed hundreds of people. He had hurt his three best friends. He was a failure, in all aspects of his life.  
  
He spent the next week hiding behind his books. Not daring to miss school. He completely ignored the people who now crowded him in the hallways, wanting to know why Kurama and Hiei had sung to him.  
  
Kurama didn't return to school.  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
Yusuke received another note on his door about a week after the night at the Black Thorn. This one was much longer than the quick note he had received previously. And it wasn't formal at all. But even though Yusuke wanted to just throw the letter away without reading it... he read it, slowly savoring each word.  
  
"Yusuke,  
  
"So not feel bad that you didn't stay behind to speak with us, we understand that you're going through a hard time right now. But Kurama and I wanted to tell you our news; surely you've noticed that he isn't in school anymore. Well, the reason is because we've gotten a record deal.  
  
"You remember Genkai don't you? Well, she told us that at some point in our running away, she was sent out to find us. She nearly did too, but we got away before she could actually catch us. Anyway, she had heard us singing in a club that night - this was before we met you - and she said that if we wanted, she would call in for a meeting with some music company. We went to meet them and we sang a few songs for them, and they told us that they loved our songs and our look. And we got the deal!  
  
"Yukina is so happy. Which of course, it the biggest thing right now. She says that with the money offered to us by the company, we can buy a home and settle down. She wants to live in Kyoto, but Kurama wants to travel around the world. The others were happy for us as well, but they've all moved to different places. I'm not quite sure where they are, but they keep in touch with us as much as they can. (Genkai taught us all how to read and write and do math and such. She said it was important.)"  
  
  
  
The handwriting in the letter suddenly changed to something that Yusuke didn't recognize.  
  
  
  
"Hey Yusuke, this is Kurama... I just wanted to say that I miss you a lot. Life isn't the same without your dry humor! And teasing Hiei just isn't the same... OW! The little creep bit me! OW! He bit me again! Why that little... I should bite him back and-"  
  
  
  
The note went back to Hiei's handwriting, this time in a rather heavy scrawl, before smoothing out as Hiei's temper cooled.  
  
  
  
"Sorry about that, stupid fox doesn't know his place. So, as you can see we're having a busy life, but it just isn't the same without you. All three of us are thinking of you, we all miss you Yusuke. Especially me. I hope you haven't forgotten about me yet. I'll write you again soon.  
  
"Your friend, always.  
  
Hiei."  
  
  
  
===  
  
  
  
The notes came frequently after that. Each day, Hiei and Kurama and Yukina had something new to tell him. They found a house in Kyoto and it was something they all absolutely loved. Yukina had bought a piano, even though she didn't know how to play it. They said it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. They wanted him to visit them, they wanted to visit him. The three experiments also sent a copy of Hiei and Kurama's first CD.  
  
Yusuke fell asleep every night listening to it.  
  
Yusuke began to miss his friends. He wanted to share their adventures again. But he was still scared. Scared of the people that he had killed. Scared of the changes in his body. Scared of the feelings he had for Hiei. And even though he wanted to face them... he couldn't. His mother, his schooling, his friends - few as they were - they all needed him. He needed to be needed.  
  
It was late at night when Hiei finally approached him. Yusuke had been out to take a walk, before deciding to rest a bit under the stars. He took out a handy blanket and sat down on it. His demons came out to dance in front of him, taunting him.  
  
/You did it!/ They cried. /You killed them all! How will you ever face your friends again? You don't deserve them!"  
  
Just a few steps away, Hiei was taking a walk as well. He knew full well that Yusuke wasn't that far away from him. He kept his footsteps silent, his pace slow. He wanted to run and embrace Yusuke. He wanted to tell the other all that had happened with his voice, not silly letters. But something held him back. Something kept him away from where he wanted to be.  
  
/"Do you know what I did to them? I *killed* them! All of them!"/  
  
Hiei stopped moving closer, now completely unsure of himself. Yusuke's words kept coming back to haunt him. Did Yusuke honestly believe that he was a murderer? No, he did not kill them. The guards died, yes. But that was their own doing. In Yusuke's heart he sought out those who cared, those who felt guilty. The experiments, some of the guards, even some of the doctors still lived. All those who carried black-hearts were obliterated.  
  
"You might as well come out here, Hiei." Yusuke sighed, not looking over to the bush the Jaganshi was hiding behind. "I know you're there."  
  
Hiei smiled to himself and shook his head. "Are you finding what you hoped for here?" He asked, walking around the bush and settling down on the blanket his friend was sitting on. "I've seen you at your school, you're doing much better. Kurama says that we should attend school as well, but I do not agree with him."  
  
Yusuke remained silent for a moment. "What did you do to me?" He whispered.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"How is it you have such a hold over me? How is every action of mine somehow connected to you? I cannot sleep at night because you are not there for me to hold. I throw myself into my schoolwork to try and forget the way it felt when our minds were connected. But no matter what I do, no matter what I see - everything comes back to you. I cannot read without hearing your voice, I cannot go anywhere without checking if your aura is there as well. I can feel you watching me when I'm at school; it distracts me so I try to work harder. Keiko and Kuwabara and everybody else that I knew in the past - they're different now. Or maybe I'm different." Tears began dripped down his cheeks, but Yusuke determinedly didn't look into the red eyes that would be his undoing.  
  
"I can't go back to who I was any more." Yusuke told him. "I can't go back-"  
  
In an abrupt movement and dislocation of air, Hiei was in front of Yusuke, staring determinedly into his eyes.  
  
"Have you learned nothing from your time in Hell?" He asked. "Time may slow or even stand still. But it never goes backwards. What would you do if you could change the past? Not go to the club that night? What then? If we had not met and you were not brought back to Hell... everybody who was there would still be suffering. As it is, they have found a place to call their own. They are *happy*. Do they not deserve to be happy?"  
  
Tears began leaking down Hiei's cheeks as well. The strange thing was, like his sisters, they hardened into perfect gems. Hiei didn't seem to care, because he kept staring into Yusuke's brown eyes, pleading with him.  
  
"Do *I* not deserve to be happy?"  
  
He surged forward, without any warning, and almost attacked Yusuke's mouth with his own. The kiss wasn't especially romantic so much as it was desperate. Hiei in desperation to find his own happiness, Yusuke in desperation to not be alone. It was sloppy and wet, but even through the imperfections a thread began to grow between their minds. As the kiss wore on it grew stronger, into a bond that could never be severed.   
  
"I missed you." Hiei confessed after they broke apart. "And I know you don't want to hear this, but you cannot stay here much longer. A few years, tops. People will begin to notice that you're not getting any older. The three of us aren't so big of a deal; people will only see us from a distance or in pictures. People actually know who you are. They'll get suspicious."  
  
Yusuke smiled and hugged Hiei against his chest. "Same old Hiei, always thinking ahead." He chuckled. "I know I cannot stay here much longer."  
  
"Urameshi!?"  
  
The two on the blanket jerked apart.  
  
"Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked almost disbelievingly. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"I think the question is, what are *you* doing here? And what's with the little kid? Why haven't you been talking to me since you got back? It's been nearly two months and not a word!"  
  
Hiei stiffened, his skin temperature increasing drastically. "Little kid?" He hissed, pulling himself free of Yusuke's arms and standing up. He slowly drew his ever present katana from its sheath. "I'll show you a little kid!"  
  
"HIEI!" Yusuke hissed, grabbing his little mate against his chest again. "You can't hurt him! At least, not with a katana!"  
  
"I could if Kurama was here!" Hiei protested, trying to wiggle free.  
  
"Hiei? Kurama?" Kuwabara said softly to himself, his eyes suddenly widening as a rare look of understanding flashed across his face. "The Strangers? The two singers? That's who you are?!"  
  
Excitement took over the bumbling oaf and he rushed forwards. "Can I have your autograph? Can I take a picture of you? What about of you and me? How about you sign a picture of you and me?" He eagerly threw out idea after idea.  
  
Hiei sighed. "I'll send you another letter tomorrow, Yusuke." He said, now completely ignoring Kuwabara. "It'll say where our new house is. Come visit us this weekend, alright? I'll come to pick you up if that's alright."  
  
The small fire controlling Jaganshi offered a rare smile and leaned up to kiss Yusuke again. "Ai shiteru, itooshi."  
  
Yusuke only had a moment to repeat those words, before Hiei disappeared completely.  
  
"Urameshi." Kuwabara looked shocked and angry now. "Explain. Now."  
  
===  
  
In the next two days, Yusuke quit school for good and stayed in his house packing. He told his mother that he had gotten a job in Kyoto and that he was moving there. As promised, Hiei appeared late Saturday night holding two train tickets. He explained that he ran from Kyoto to Tokyo, but didn't think that Yusuke could run for so far without getting tired. The two took the late night express train and were met by Yukina and Kurama at the train station. The three took him to their new home.  
  
They showed him everything. The kitchen, the bathrooms, the living room, study, music room, the yards, the attic, and finally - their own bedrooms. All of them were a marvel. Kurama's was painted all in greens. The fox had a large nest for a bed that hung from a tree growing in the corner. The carpet was actually grass growing out of the floor boards. It was truly beautiful. And the window had a view pointing towards the mountains. Yukina's room was actually rather cold, and her bed was a nest made from a tree as well, though it seemed to be made completely of ice. The walls were painted a very light blue, and small throw rugs covered the floor. Her window over looked the back yard. And Hiei's room was, strangely, designed exactly like Yusuke's old room. Although, there was again a nest instead of a bed. The wood smelled of fires, meaning this was a tree grown specially to hold in Hiei's great heat. The room even had Yusuke's old text books on the desk, which he had though he had lost. The window, complete with an amazing window seat, looked over a great view of the ocean, rather than the city.  
  
"This is our room." Hiei said shyly. "I've been sleeping in Kurama's nest, but now that you're here... we'll share. Is that okay with you, itooshi?"  
  
Yusuke nodded. "That sounds perfect."  
  
"But Yusuke," Yukina said happily, tugging on his hand. "We haven't shown you the best part yet!" She eagerly pulled him down to the music room and tapped lightly against a panel on the wall. The whole wall slid back to reveal a beautiful piano. It was the same piano that Yusuke first played months ago, right before he and Hiei were caught.  
  
"Play us something, ne... oniisan?" The blue haired ice princess pleaded.  
  
Yusuke smiled and sat down. For the first time, he truly felt a peace. At peace with his friends, with his life, with himself. He had someone to love, he had a true family. And he was happy.  
  
He played the piano.  
  
And he was beautiful.  
  
  
  
=Owari=  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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AN Alright, this is the last authors note of Strangers. *sniffle* I think that we should take a moment to savor this moment. Because, this fic was more than just a fic. Someone even went so far as to say it was *more* than just a fic. ^__^ and I don't think it really matters how long it took to write, or how many cows were killed during the planning process. Or even who stole land from whom at the turn of the centuries. All that matter is that it's done now. And the plot-bunnies (shudders) have been invited back in hopes that a new story will emerge in this ones shadow. (Runs away)  
  
Alright, now that *that's* over, I have just a few more things to say. First off, there were a few songs in this chapter that I didn't actually use the lyrics of, but I did kind of put the title in. I want to list those songs in case some nimrod thinks that I own those as well.  
  
  
  
1) Behind Blue Eyes: Original version sung by The Who.  
  
2) Into the West: The end song of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.  
  
3) I'm Already There: sung by Lonestar.  
  
  
  
I do not own those songs; I only used ideas from them. Okay, the second thing I have to say is I actually wrote a two page lemonish - limish thing... but my computer ate it. I'll *try* to rewrite it (although we all know that rewrites are never as good). Send me an email if you want to read it. I'll try to send it out as soon as I can.  
  
  
  
Thirdly, I have a live journal. And it might be slightly out of the way for you to actually go and check it... but that is where I put all of my updates. I suggest checking it for story updates, rants, and random talking.  
  
Ano... I think that that's about it. Plot bunnies are coming closer, and I'm hoping to have this up before they actually attack. *author suddenly freezes* what's this, an idea for a sequel? NOO!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Oh well. Review, ne? Please? I'll love you for ever.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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